Lies of the Wandering Soul
by michaelaanneschultz
Summary: How far would you go to find love? Lie about where you live, or what your name is, your job, or that you are international platinum recording artist? Well Annabeth Chase did and she regrets every second she lies, having met and fallen for Percy Jackson, a student at NYU and learning his tragic story isn't making it any easier. What happens when he finds out? Will he stay or leave?
1. The Day They First Met Part One

Chapter One: The Day They First Met Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan's  
>Percy Jackson and the Olympians<br>and the Heroes of Olympus Series, and I do not  
>own the songs I put into this book either.<br>I only own my fan made characters and of course  
>the plot line.<strong>

_Added Songs – In Order Of Appearance_  
><em>No songs in this chapter.<em>

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><p><strong>~Author's Note~<strong>

**Hey, this is my first Percy Jackson and the Olympians fan fiction and I hope you enjoy my first chapter. I hope you like it, I have worked seriously hard on this so I hope you enjoy it.**

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><p>Today was another typical day for twenty-three year old Percy Jackson. Wake up at six-thirty, prep for work, catch the bus and grab a cab to the center of town and arrive seven-thirty sharp at the Cloud Olympus Cafe where he worked as a regular old barista. He had such a long day ahead of him, the café being the most popular and successful one in all of New York City.<p>

"Can I get an Americano with a triple shot?" A customer ordered as Percy did his job as usual every day. He smiled as he handed the brunette her regular order and had her exact change ready because she always paid with a twenty and her drink usually cost seven dollars, thirty-seven cents. "Thank you Percy. Call me." The brunette winked as she exited the café.

Life had been really rough for Percy; he grew up with an abusive step-father since his father had abandoned him when he was born and then was left with his mom to fend for themselves and then proceeded to marry his abusive step-father. He was now a mature twenty-three year old with hopes and dreams, and is working on getting a degree in marine biology.

When he had turned the ripe old age of eighteen, he gave the police evidence showing the true side of his abusive step-father, saving both his mom and himself from further pain. They were both brutally beaten by him, and now after long years of abuse they were finally free of him. Percy was a shell of the person he wanted to be and it drove him crazy but he learned that he shouldn't let it hold him back from what he wanted to be.

Percy has lived alone for the past two years in his New York apartment, his best friend Grover Underwood used to live with him but he moved out two years ago when he got engaged to his four-year girlfriend, Juniper Johnson, and a year ago, they were united in marriage and are happily living together, their lives filled with love and romance.

Percy didn't ever have much luck in the love department; he had a few serious relationships that went so wrong for him. His first relationship was first love for him, he had a girlfriend by the name of Calypso Greaves, they were high school sweethearts, well they got together when Percy turned sixteen and they were together for a year and she broke his heart. Cheated on him, never asked who she was with behind his back because it hurt him too much to even ask.

Now she is a music pop star, but she cannot compete with Platinum recording artist Annabeth Chase who is on top of her game. Percy hadn't seen her since they separated but he heard about her making a career in the music industry but he didn't really care because she broke him.

His next flame was an art student by the name of Rachel Elizabeth Dare, she and Percy weren't too serious but they kinda were in a way, they got together when he was eighteen and um... broke up, well he was actually dumped once again after six months, and yet it still hurt him badly, having opened up to someone again, only to have his heart torn apart again.

Percy wanted something more serious and all Rachel wanted was to have his body, she was just looking for a good experience with a strong powerful man but because Percy was so closed off and was not ready to go that far with Rachel and she just turned round and said good-bye and left him there in his apartment.

The one lost relationship that hit him really hard and the most recent to hurt him was the one he had with Reyna, she was it for him, they were together for three years, and then just like that, she was gone, and I don't mean she left him, she passed away. That was a year ago, Percy was completely closed off person now, completely swore against love because of Reyna but not because of her leaving him, because she died in a tragic accident. She was as a tactic's officer in the US Navy, and she was appointed to the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier when it had a major system malfunction.

An explosion in the engine room killed all twelve people inside, Reyna one of them. At the time she was doing an inspection when it blew, she never made it and Percy was affected badly by it, cause when she was scheduled to return from the coast (which was two days after she died), Percy was going to ask her to marry him. And it was just before Christmas.

He still had the ring, and all of her stuff was tucked away in the back of his closet in his apartment. They didn't live together but she spent all her time there. He had a rough life, and he desperately wanted to feel that love again, since he lost Reyna it had been hard for him to get back on his feet but he had done it but he was still broken inside.

Something about today felt different, his sixth sense nagged at him. Every day was just a regular day for him but something about today felt different.

As Percy worked his usual afternoon shift, and he smiled to himself as the door opened and a new customer walked in. He knew every regular that walked in but this was most definitely a brand new customer, first time one no doubt. This girl had long black curly hair and she had a beautiful unique eye color. She had what seemed to be electric blue but it was way, way darker and its shifting colours made her look unpredictable..

She had on a plain simple T-Shirt with 'JUST BEING ME,' written exactly like that, caps and all in red on a plain black back drop that was the shirt. She had on a pair of old faded jeans, tattered and torn, but at the same time, it was funky and unique and different. She had a regular sea green fleece hoodie on top of her shirt and a pair of black Nike trainers.

"Morning ma'am. My name is Percy, what can I do for you today." He spoke calmly, his lopsided and quirky grin plastered on his face as the woman walked up to the till. She smiled and tapped her finger against her chin, deep in thought as she debated over what she wanted. It wasn't busy at this time of day so he didn't mind.

"Can I please have a vanilla Chai latte, with a dollop of foam, two shots and a piece of quiche but which quiche should I get. What do you recommend?" She asked curiously, her eyes focused on his, as Percy turned his gaze to the variety of savory quiches, finally coming to a decision.

"I recommend that if you are vegetarian which I highly doubt you are, I would go with the feta and spinach but if you are not a vegetarian, I would go with a subtle but delicious slice of regular of ham and cheese, it is the best in the city." She hummed, deep in thought once more and she gave a thumbs up as Percy neatly cut her a slice of the homemade quiche and placing it on the plate for her.

He quickly prepped her coffee, placing the lid neatly onto the Styrofoam cup and led her to a table and placed the things down neatly on the table as she took a seat. "If you need anything feel free to ask. I already said this but I am Percy, Percy Jackson." He said as he extended his hand out in a vouch of friendship.

"Nice to meet you. I am Anna, Anna Olympia." She said as she accepted his extension of friendship and she shook his hand happily. He enjoyed the feel of her hand in his and blushed when he realized that he was still holding her hand. She pulled away blushing and had grabbed out a pen and a notebook, she scribbled something on it and then tore a page out of the book and handed it Percy.

"What is this?" Percy asked looking at the piece of paper, a sequence of numbers written on the paper, short, only about ten digits long. It also had her name written above it, 'What was it?' was the only question running through Percy's mind.

"It's my number. Give me a ring sometime, maybe we could meet for coffee one of these days." She suggested in a pleased yet nervous tone. Percy smiled and tucked the number in the back pocket of his jeans and smiled as he said good-bye and went back to work.

Percy was in a good mood the entire day having met Anna, he just wasn't sure if he was ready to start hanging out with women, I mean he hung out very often with his cousin and that but he hadn't dated anyone since he found out about Reyna's death. Anna had left about an hour after Percy met her and in a way he already missed her.

Walking down the street he smiled as he listened to his favorite artist, a beautiful young artist exactly his age, goes by the name of Annabeth Chase. She was beautiful, bodacious and has a laid back kind of vibe but she is passionate and serious about her music and tuition too. Graduated from Harvard with masters in Architecture even while she worked on her music.

Appearance wise, she is stunning, and the same thing can be said about her voice. She has long curly blonde hair and she has such a unique and exquisite eye color. She has grey eyes that suited her. Percy's favorite song was 'Here I am.' He enjoyed humming to the music as he rode the nine pm bus to his stop.

He fiddled with his keys when he arrived in front of his apartment door, when he found it; he entered his ordinary apartment where he lived. Locking the door behind him, he sighed and headed to his bedroom, he didn't have classes today or tomorrow which pleased him greatly. He stopped and went to his kitchen and dug in his deep freeze searching for a microwave dinner.

He found a ready meal beef lasagna and popped it into the microwave setting the timer for ten minutes and he sighed as he headed straight to his room, pulling on a pair of pajama boxers and a matching black vest and as he carried his jeans to the wash basket, the piece of paper tucked in the back pocket of his jeans.

He picked it up, smiling and then he frowned, he felt odd but in a good way but he sighed as he crumpled up the paper and chucked it into the small basket waste basket and he went to his cupboard, the very back of it and pulled out a sealed cardboard box and placed it on the bed. He hesitantly looked at the top, 'Reyna,' written capital letters with a black bold marker.

He breathed in, nervously pulling out his pocket knife, flicking the blade out, stabbing the blade into the silver duct tape that kept the box closed and pulled the blade through, splitting the tape open. He blew off the blanket of feathery dust that had accumulated on the box, due to the fact he hadn't opened it once since Reyna's passing and ran his hand over the top of it.

He breathing stuttered as he started hesitantly started opened the panels of the worn out cardboard box, his heart drumming against his rib cage, a lump formed in his through as he gazed down into the box, tears forming in his eyes as he looked at all of Reyna's old trinkets.

He reached in and pulled out a plush toy dolphin, his hand shaking as he held it up to look at it, recalling the day he gave her this little good luck charm on her first briefing onto the aircraft carrier. It brought back painful memories, although they were all wonderful memories of her smile and face, it ripped his heart right out of his chest and he quickly dropped it back into the box and shook away the memory.

So many old things that belonged to his girlfriend, but the one thing that haunted him, that was staring him in the face was the small rounded plush red ring box, seated on top of the item he was looking for, Reyna's diary. He grabbed the sea-foam green book and pulled it out from underneath the ring box, he had no intention of ever opening it ever again.

He pulled off the stretchy black band that kept the book closed, placing it on the bed next to him and he calmly sat down on the bed next to the box, but he didn't open it, he just stared at the cover, a small smile creeping onto his lips and he remembered the day he gave her this, he had never seen a smile that big on woman's face before, it gave him the necessary strength to open the diary to its first page.

He gazed down at the oddly crisp and fresh white page that was covered with scribbles and loops of writing formed neatly across the page and smiled as he ran his finger over the writing, reading the deep and personal thoughts of his deceased girlfriend, never realizing how deep she went.

He flipped through various odd pages of her diary and he found a book mark sticking out of the diary and he pulled it and opened it to the last page of writing. His eyes widened, his hand started shaking, his lip quivering uncontrollably as he looked at the date on top of the page. It was December 23rd, 2013; this was the day that Reyna died.

He couldn't find it in himself to read the last thing she wrote before the accident, the tears poured from his eyes like a river as he gazed down at the page, sobbing uncontrollably as he covered his mouth with his hand to muffle his sobs in an attempt to calm himself down which was an epic fail, he needed to take a breather.

He just closed his eyes and steadied his breathing but taking in deeper breaths, he never realized just how hard this would be for him, almost a year and he could barely look at her things without having an emotional breakdown. He did the one thing that calmed him down, he remembered the day he first met Reyna, it was the day that changed his life all those years ago. It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon, three and a half years ago and Percy was once again working at the cafe...

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><p><em>Percy was as enthusiastic as ever, beaming with pride as he started his next day of work. The cafe was buzzing with life once again on this fine afternoon and Percy felt great. Many beautiful woman had come into the room and tried to give him their number but he couldn't find it in himself to accept any of them.<em>

_Percy wasn't looking for a relationship right now, considering he had recently just been dumped by Rachel and even though they weren't that serious, Percy wished they were more but he could be with someone who just wanted his body and not his love, and anyway he was focusing on school and that._

_The bell at the entrance rang and another customer entered the cafe, it was a woman, she had curly black hair that was tied into a single low lose ponytail. She was wearing a pair of worn down faded three-quarter jeans and a simple red zipped up hoodie and a pair of black trainers._

_She came right to Percy and smiled at him and Percy looked down and smiled inconspicuously at her, quite taken back by her and he felt that he would blush if he stared into her perfect charcoal eyes, that were as dark as midnight. "What can I get you?" he asked curiously like he did with every customer._

_"Can I please just have a cinnamon Chai latte with extra foam to go." She asked politely as she dug in her wallet for the money, Percy happily poured the latte into the regular Styrofoam cup and placed the lid on, grabbing a spoon and two sugars and handed it to her. 'Thanks, how much it is."_

_Percy looked in her hand and saw that she didn't have enough, and judging from her clothes, she really didn't have much do so he felt a sense or more of an obligation to help a damsel in distress. "Don't worry, it's on me." He said politely and she blushed beet red and smiled at him._

_"Thank you so much. I'm Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, how can I repay you, um what's your name." She asked, wanting to know more about this kind gentleman that was Percy Jackson._

_"Perseus Jackson, but you can call me Percy. You can repay me by having dinner with me tonight, sounds fair enough?" Percy asked in a quizzing tone and she smiled at him and nodded, accepting his offer. "I will pick you up from here at seven, sounds good."_

_"Perfect, I can join you." A voice shouted from behind Reyna and a woman looking exactly like Reyna and she was wearing a leather jumpsuit with a pair of high-heeled boots that were black as hell."Hi, I am Hylla Shannon Ramirez-Arellano, Reyna's twin sister, and thanks for inviting us to dinner."_

_"Um Hylla, he payed for my coffee and I am taking him to dinner, dear sister, as on a date." Reyna growled at her sister all Hylla did was laugh at her twin._

_"Oh please, you choose him as a possible future lover, he is decent but what will you gain from such a mediocre relationship." Percy stared at the woman, completely shocked by the statement just made about him and Reyna looked furious, the two started arguing and Percy found himself unable to stop smiling, he found this so amusing._

_"Guys, calm down," Percy asked politely and they turned round and faced him, Reyna smiling brightly, Hylla scowling at him. "How about this, if I am such mediocre boyfriend material, then how about you both come over to my apartment and I will cook you both a fancy homemade meal, and based on that, you Hylla can judge me accordingly based on the meal and my hosting and not just by the fact that I have a boring mediocre job like every regular person."_

_"That sounds fair Hylla, you can judge him, and I can judge if I he is a good cook and worthy to be in a relationship with me." Reyna said hopefully, winking at Percy and he found himself smiling as he played with his dish cloth he used to dry the coffee cups and Hylla was deep in thought, her facial expression was serious and then she grinned._

_"Ok, how about we have lunch tomorrow." Percy shook his head._

_"Sadly I cannot, I am in my final year of my studies at NYU, marine biology, my father owns the top marine biology research center in the USA." Percy stated as he leaned against the counter top, looking completely poker faced at Hylla, knowing that he had just caught her out on her analysis of him. Reyna winked at Percy with a smirk on her, Percy had played her sister so well and Percy saw it as well._

_Hylla was dumbstruck, she tried to hide her shocked expression but she just couldn't, she knew that this one was absolutely perfect, especially for her sister. He would be a perfect addition to the family. "Oh, silly me, I guess I can't come for dinner so you can return to you plans. Reyna, I will be waiting outside for you." Hylla spoke in a rushed and surprised tone and she left the counter heading outside the cafe but Percy saw her looking through the window at them._

_"So, dinner tonight. Pick you at you place." Percy said with a smirk and Reyna smiled as grabbed Percy's hand and pulled the pen out of his apron pocket and furiously wrote down something on his hand. "What is this, might I ask." Percy asked curiously as Reyna put his pen back in his black apron pocket._

_"My phone number, call me and I will text you the address." Reyna said hopefully and Percy grabbed her hand and pulled out his pen and wrote down his number on her hand. "Thanks, I look forward to tonight Percy." She said hopefully and he smiled at her. "Don't worry about Hylla, she is always like that but she will change her tune, trust me." She laughed and Percy joined in the laughter, her laugh was infectious and so was her smile. 'Bye Percy."_

_"Bye Reyna," and with that she walked out the door..._

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><p>Percy opened his eyes and breathed out, he felt so much better, that day was the highlight of his life, and boy was Reyna right when she said that her sister would change her tune, Hylla found Percy as interesting as Reyna did. Those two were inseparable, sisters for life and if anyone was as broken and destroyed as Percy was that day, it was Hylla, she lived in Washington DC and if there was anyone he could talk to, it was her.<p>

Hylla had gotten engaged and Reyna was going to be her maid of honor, the engagement was the day before Reyna boarded the USS Midway for the last time. Although his hand was shaking, he felt calmer than he did before. His thumb traced the lines of writing, as he began reading Reyna's final thoughts, a lump formed in his throat, he began choking up badly as he started reading over Reyna's final diary entry. The tears pouring from his eyes like a waterfall as he read over the entry, his heart clenching as he read over every word to the next.

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><p><em>Dear Diary<em>

_Today early morning has been rough and now I have to do an engine room inspection, besides that, everything has been great, I can't wait to go home, I miss Percy so much and I miss Hylla so much too. In just two days I am going home and I am so excited. I love it on the ship, it is amazing, but I want to be back home. I wish I was back home with him, I love Percy so much and you know something, my boyfriend isn't as covert as he thought he was with hiding that ring he has hidden in his dressing table drawer. I only just figured out what it is for and of course I would have said yes if he asked me to marry him, which is if he asked me before I left for the ship. I want to marry Percy; I want to spend my life with him, ever since we first met. I miss my Percy so much; I can't wait to see him in two days. May be if we plan quick enough, Percy and I might get married before Hylla, I can just see the look on her face, I will have finally succeeded in showing up my sister. Ha ha ha ha. Well off I go to work. I love you diary, I love you Hylla, I love you Mom and dad and most important of all, I love you Percy so much…_

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><p>Percy was bawling his eyes out, unwanted sobs escaped his throat but somehow managed to calm himself down. He smiled as he closed the diary, and placed it back in the box, well he actually dropped it because he couldn't stand to look at it anymore. His gaze was directed at the waste basket where he threw Anna's number in and he dashed to the bin and emptied it, finding the crumpled up phone number he was looking for. He pulled out his phone and dialled the number, 0779567332 (Made-up Number); and put the phone to his ear and after two rings, a feminine voice answered.<p>

"Hello, whom I am speaking too." The voice spoke cheerfully causing Percy to smile brightly, as he thought of what to say. No fear entered his mind that is until he wanted to speak.

"Hey Anna… um, it's Percy, Percy Jackson…we met at the, um, the Olympus Cafe. I was your barista today." Percy said nervously, as he calmed himself, the difficulty of doing this was extremely hard and emotionally painful for him, this would be the first time he had asked anyone out since Reyna died one year ago.

"Oh, hey. I didn't expect for you to call me so soon." She said in a shocked tone, as if she wasn't even expecting him to call her at all. "So, might I ask why you have called me so suddenly?" She inquired, Percy's nerves starting to get the better of him.

"well, I was… sort of, may be wondering… if may be, I don't know..." Percy stuttered and then closed his eyes and breathed in, "I wanted to know if you might want to meet with me for coffee tomorrow. I don't have any work or classes tomorrow so I thought you might want to meet up... like you suggested." Percy said confidently this time, sure that he wanted to do this, to start dating again. He anxiously waited for her answer.

"Of course, I would love to go to coffee with you. How about we meet at the park, may be you could get us some coffee, you know what I like." Percy smiled and nodded, happy that this was happening.

"That sounds good. Say at about nine tomorrow we could meet at Central Park, north entrance." Percy cleverly suggested, genuinely excited about this now, having accomplished a huge step in the way forward.

"That sounds perfect. So see you tomorrow Percy. I can't wait." She said excitedly, and Percy grinned like a toddler with a lollipop and almost jumped up excitedly.

"I will see you tomorrow Anna." Percy said calmly as the phone call ended and he sighed in relief, happy and content that he was on the right track, he was going to give this a try, he wanted to give it a try and now after reading what Reyna wrote, he was ready to try and move on.

As he tucked the diary back in, he pulled out the top picture frame, smiling happily. It was taken the day before Reyna left for the ship, they went to the beach and she took a selfie of them and Percy couldn't help but print out the picture and frame it. He knew at that moment, that he would be ok, he would truly be ok.

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><p><strong>Hey my Fictioneers, hope you liked my first chapter, it is a part one, part two because it was tooooo long to be a chapter on its own. I hope you liked this first part, the second will be posted soon, give a huge round of applause to my fabulous beta Akakuro4869 and give a big round of applause to Captainravenworld for all the wonderful advice you gave me, and thanks to Akakuro4896 for helping me get this in tip top shape.<strong>

**Also, I want to know what you think, let me know everything, I want to hear from you all.**

**Got to run, so see you with the next post, bye bye.**

**Michaela…**


	2. The Day They First Met Part Two

Chapter Two: The Day They First Met Part Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan's**  
><strong>Percy Jackson and the Olympians<strong>  
><strong>and the Heroes of Olympus Series, and I do not<strong>  
><strong>own the songs I put into this book either.<strong>  
><strong>I only own my fan made characters and of course<strong>  
><strong>the plot line.<strong>

_Added Songs – In Order of Appearance_  
><em>No One – Alicia Keys<em>  
><em>Everytime – Brittany Spears<em>

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><p><strong>~Author's Note~<strong>

**Enjoy this part two; I hope that you do enjoy it very much.**  
><strong>N.B - Chasing Cars is by Snow Patrol and Boomerang by Nicole Scherzinger, are mentioned in the chapter, but the lyrics are not actually used in any part of the story.<strong>

**Sorry, I made a mother mistake. I changed a lot in the chapter and I forgot to upload the chapter and I posted my draft of it and not my new version. my bad. Do forgive me, besides, I like this chapter better. So here is me, correcting my major boo-boo.**

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><p>Anna smiled as put the phone down, very nearly squealing with excitement. She calmed herself and walked back through to the sound booth. "Annabeth, why are you in disguise again. I thought you were out of your Anna Olympia phase." A deep voice groaned from a tall woman with straight shoulder length hair, looking roughly twenty-three, nearly twenty-four years of age, electric blue eyes and she wore a pair of black tights and a black buttoned up blouse.<p>

She looked steamed right now, looking at her best friend and Annabeth knew that she was in trouble. Anna sighed, having been caught out by her best friend, reached up and twirled her index finger through a single lock of her curly black hair refusing to make eye contact with her best friends piercing gaze, and Anna thought to herself, that is looks could kill, she would be dead right now.

Eventually admitting defeat to her best friend's superiority, groaned in defeat as she grabbed a clump of hair and pulled off the wig upon her head and revealed her real hair. Long curly blonde hair cascaded down her face and she ran her fingers through her hair, fluffing out her natural blonde curls and tangles from having her wig on all day.

She pulled a hair band off of her wrist and tied her hair into a ponytail and stared at Thalia. She pulled out a small case from her jean pocket, popped it open and reached her hand up to her eyes and removed the electric blue contacts she wore in her eyes, revealing her youthful and vibrant grey pupils and placed them in her case and tucked it back in her pocket.

"Thalia, I have told you this before, I love being the music phenomenon that I am but I want to be a regular person too, who goes on regular dates." Annabeth blushed and her best friend of nineteen years stared wide-eyed at Annabeth. "Oh, I kind of have a date for tomorrow with a really good looking guy." Annabeth admitted guiltily and Thalia was more shocked than angry now.

"No Annabeth, no, seriously. No, come on." Thalia shrieked as she stomped over to Annabeth gripping your shoulders. "You convinced a guy to go out with you as Anna Olympia, not as Annabeth Chase. Remember what happened last time you tried to be with someone as her." She panicked as she tried to shake some sense into Annabeth.

"Yeah I remember Thalia, but it happened when I was me, you don't think I remember what he did to me, how he broke me, did you already forget that I was there!" Annabeth growled, completely enraged at the comment her best friend made, "Thalia, I need to try, or else I will always be this scared little three year old, I never want to feel the way I have felt for past ten months since I found out the truth,."

Thalia's gaze softened, she had completely forgotten the pain Annabeth had been through and not just with Luke, with everything in her entire life. Annabeth didn't have an easy childhood, she barely had her mother around because all her mother cared about was her business and he personal projects, and she was never allowed to be a regular child, got punished by her mother for failing a test by one mark, she was stripped of all of that.

Annabeth even got punished for being friends with Thalia, she could only have friends that her mother approved of and one of them was Luke (her music producer) and Juniper (her manager), and even through the brutal punishments, Annabeth still disobeyed her mother and remained friends with Thalia because she was the one person who helped her through it besides her father.

Annabeth had only been with two people, one was a fellow singer, Michael Yew. They started going out the day they met to work on their duets for each of their albums (Annabeth's first album) but their relationship was too much to handle, it got in the way of their work so they ended their relationship with a mutual agreement and Annabeth and Michael were young, they were only seventeen.

Annabeth didn't enter another relationship until just over a year later, when she started her university studies (she took night classes), she had to fly back and forth between to get to her classes and sometimes she had to Skype to her lesson but she did it and graduated with a perfect distinction like her mother wanted. But the year she started her studies, Luke kissed her and they started going out.

He was her first serious relationship; they were together for four years until Luke cheated on her for a girl called Calypso and broke her heart, completely destroying her. "Well, this one is different Thalia. I just know he is, and Anna is meeting with him at the park for coffee tomorrow. So deal with it. Can we just rehearse now?" Annabeth complained and Thalia sighed.

"Fine, I just hope you know exactly what you are doing." Thalia said as she exited the booth. "What do you want to rehearse Annie?" Thalia groaned in defeat ready to get to work.

"Let's start with 'No-One' and then go into 'Chasing Cars,' and work out the kinks before we get the band in and get recording." Thalia nodded and called the band in, consisting of Silena Beckendorf (Previously Beauregard), back-up singer and violinist, Clarisse Rodriquez (Previously La Rue) on drums; Drew on bass guitar, Piper McLean on lead guitar and Annabeth sat at the piano.

"Ok, take one on 'No One', ready Annabeth?" The producer Luke Castellan asked as the tech crew came in to record. Juniper Underwood, Annabeth's manager and close person friend next to them. She recently got married to this guy named Grover Underwood. She was happy that Juniper was happy. They were together since high school so he was like a family friend to her.

"Alright, ready girl." Juniper hyped and Annabeth nodded as she positioned the mic stand to the height that she wanted and put on her head phones. "Ok, No One, run-through, take one, in five, four, three, two, one."

The music started soft and Annabeth grabbed the microphone as she began the song...

_I just want you close  
>Where you can stay forever<br>You can be sure  
>That it will only get better<em>

_You and me together  
>Through the days and nights<br>I don't worry 'cause  
>Everything's going to be alright<br>People keep talking they can say what they like  
>But all I know is everything's going to be alright<em>

_No one, no one, no one  
>Can get in the way of what I'm feeling<br>No one, no one, no one  
>Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you<br>Can get in the way of what I feel for you_

It was heavily ironic that she was singing this, she wrote this song about her feelings for Luke and someone had already started to make a change within her and she had only just met him and she felt as though he was the one, maybe it was her inexperience in the love department or maybe it her second chance starting but she felt different inside today.

_When the rain is pouring down  
>And my heart is hurting<br>You will always be around  
>This I know for certain<em>

_You and me together  
>Through the days and nights<br>I don't worry 'cause  
>Everything's going to be alright<br>People keep talking they can say what they like  
>But all I know is everything's going to be alright<em>

_No one, no one, no one  
>Can get in the way of what I'm feeling<br>No one, no one, no one  
>Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you<br>Can get in the way of what I feel_

Inside her, she felt the words meant nothing and yet she was singing with so much passion as she sung her heart out. She still felt the pain and sorry inside her but it was slowly vanishing.

_I know some people search the world  
>To find something like what we have<br>I know people will try, try to divide, something so real  
>So to the end of time I'm telling you there ain't no one<em>

_No one, no one  
>Can get in the way of what I'm feeling<br>No one, no one, no one  
>Can get in the way of what I feel for you<em>

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh[x2]  
><em>

Everyone cheered; Annabeth was talented and owned that song. It was flawless, she had a smile on her face that couldn't be broken, and it was absolutely awesome. She felt so much better than she had since she found out what Luke did to her behind her back, and honestly, she didn't care.

"Ok guys, let's get to work on recording the next one, I want to get home as soon as possible cause I have a very important meeting tomorrow." Annabeth announced excitedly with a blush creeping on her face. Everyone stared at her but let it slide and Annabeth prepared for her next song.

* * *

><p>A few hours later...<p>

"You were awesome today Annabeth." Luke cheered as he hugged his favorite artist. "You killed it today." He responded excitedly. Annabeth was hesitant to hug him but did anyway, because it was awkward between since the break-up but they were still friends, you could say.

"Thanks Luke." She appreciated the support she had from Luke, he loved it. But he was just flattering her like he always did for the last ten months since the incident. He just did it to make her cry and she barely noticed because usually as soon as she left, she burst into tears but today she didn't, which was odd for her.

He did it as a way to mock her, since he cheated on her, any comment he said to her hurt her because at the night of the party, he admitted to her that everything he ever said to her was a lie, so she is very sensitive to anything and everything he says to her and emotionally breaks down even though she is stronger than that.

"So, Annie, I was wondering if you wanted to go for a drink with me tomorrow, so we can hang out." Annabeth smiled awkwardly, having to decline such a wonderful but horrible offer, considering their history, well considering that Luke basically ruined her, exposing his affair in front of her peers at her fourth album release party last year and basically embarrassing her in front of everyone.

"I wish I could Luke but I already made other plans concerning my day off tomorrow. Sorry, but another thing that you should already know, I don't date cheaters. Oh, and another thing, I am done hanging onto what I had with you, so stop trying to flatter me and make me feel miserable, see you tomorrow Mr. Castellan." Luke tucked his hands in his jean pockets, slightly embarrassed and he sighed. He was pissed off right now.

"Yeah, that's cool, whatever." He tried to act casual, as if he hadn't just asked her out and got turned down, sighing and departed from the room without so much as another word. Annabeth sighed, she liked Luke but he more like a brother than a possible boyfriend and he hurt her badly, he used her and ended things but they were still friends but it was a struggle for her to be his friend again.

No matter how hard Annabeth tried, she couldn't picture herself with Luke, she was caring and sweet but they had nothing in common and they were in a way, family. And on top of that, he was a lying, cheating bastard. They were together for four years, and then she found out he had been seeing her arch rival in the music business. He was seeing Calypso Greaves behind her back for three years and he dumped her.

And yet she always remembered the day that Luke kissed her, because that was the first real connection she had ever had with a person before, that relationship in some ways helped her music grow, as well as the break-up but the day he kissed her, changed her entire tune of her music...

* * *

><p><em>Annabeth and Luke were furiously working on her newest song track, Boomerang but they were arguing a little about what was best. "Come on Annabeth, it won't work that way, it won't work with the song." Luke argued, trying to show Annabeth the sequence he thought was best.<em>

_"But I see it this way Luke, we need to use track version fourteen not thirteen 'cause it ruins the beat of the tune." Annabeth tried to stretch across the board to hit the track number she wanted and Luke blocked her hand with hers and they stared into each other's eyes but it was different this time._

_A blush had crept up across her cheeks and she nervously bit her lip, their noses were basically touching, they had never been this close to each other before and it had never felt so unknown to Annabeth. "I think that we should use track fourteen. Um...But I think we should ask for the band's opinion, don't you think so. Maybe get a second opinion." Annabeth suggested nervously, the position they were in was getting a little awkward for her._

_"Yeah, it's the best way." Luke agreed and Annabeth nodded in agreement before she turned away from Luke and she pulled her hand away from Luke's, but she didn't expect Luke to grab her hand and pulled it. Annabeth turned to face him but instead of meeting Luke's eyes, she was met with a kiss from Luke._

_Annabeth was as stiff as a log, she never expected Luke to kiss her, this was her first kiss with anyone, and she had no idea what to do. It was a very short kiss, and Luke pulled away quite quickly and he stared into Annabeth's grey eyes with his. "I like track fourteen better than thirteen." She squeaked nervously as a blush formed on both of their cheeks._

_"I agree." Luke said nervously, behind them, snickers and whispers could be heard and the two turned round and saw Thalia and the band bouncing up and down like a bunch over-excited teenage girls. Luke and Annabeth started laughing but neither of them could hide the blushes on their faces._

_Thalia bounced towards Annabeth, she wasn't a typical girly girl, but she was a seriously overreacting. "I knew you two liked each other." Annabeth was giggling and jumped up and down with her best friend, Luke was being patted on the back by all of the band and he went up to Annabeth and grabbed her hand and smiled at her._

_"How about we go and catch a movie tonight, first date." Luke proposed and Annabeth nodded and his free hand went under her chin and tilted Annabeth's head up so he could look into her beautiful gray eyes with his and smiled at her._

_"My mother wouldn't approve of me having a relationship but honestly, I don't care what she thinks anymore. I am living my dream with music, she doesn't own me anymore. I will go to the movies with you Luke." He had a bright smile on his face and he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips and pulled away, leaving a smile on both of their faces and a shrill of screams from the girls. This was going to be an amazing time._

* * *

><p>Annabeth always found herself smiling every time at that memory and then she remember that he cheated on her. She remembered that period of time, that two month period where she was locked up in her apartment and no-one knew she was there until the day that Thalia knocked on the door and they had a disagreement and then what happened afterwards.<p>

* * *

><p><em>As usual, Annabeth sat on her couch, hugging her favorite big fluffy soft tiger, that she named Mr. Whiskers when she got it when she was seven, she never let it go. Her tiger was one of her favorite things; whenever she was upset, she always cuddled her stuffed toy to make herself feel better. After what happened at her album release party, she has felt like that same little girl since.<em>

_Annabeth felt like a porcelain doll, her heart felt hollow, she felt completely empty since she found out about Luke and Calypso. Not only did she feel hollow inside, she felt broken, she felt like Luke had just picked up her fragile heart and threw it against the wall, completely shattering it. She had never felt so destroyed before, never felt so betrayed before. She wanted to crawl into a hole and die._

_There was a loud banging on her apartment door. Nobody knew Annabeth was here so she chose to ignore it but it got louder. "CHASE, OPEN THE FLIPPIN' DOOR THIS INSTANT!" A loud and all too familiar voice boomed from outside her apartment. "CHASE, OPEN UP THIS DOOR THIS INSTANT, YOU MISERABLE HAG OR I SWEAR TO GOD THAT I WILL KICK IT DOWN MYSELF AND DRAG YOU OUT OF THIS APARTMENT BY YOUR HAIR ANNABETH CHASE!" The voice bellowed furiously and Annabeth just couldn't ignore it._

_Annabeth groaned as she chucked her blanket off of her and hugged Mr. Whiskers as she sobbed into her soft teddy, walking slowly to her apartment to sobbing, "I'm coming Thalia." She felt so sorry for herself as she grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open a crack and glared as best as she could at Thalia in her current state. "What do you want?" Annabeth whispered in a stuttering manner due to her tears._

_"I am here to get you out of your slump; you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself Annabeth. It isn't like you. Come on, you haven't been to the studio in months, your dad and your younger brothers are freaking out because you won't answer their calls, you missed Christmas and new years and Bobby and Matthew's birthday, to boot, it's already the middle of January Annabeth. Come on, we are sorting this out now, starting with a shower." Thalia yelled sternly, she wore a disgusted look on her face as she shoved the door open and knocked Annabeth onto her bottom and Thalia closed the door behind her._

_"Thalia, what are you doing?" Annabeth demanded as Thalia dragged Annabeth to the bathroom and turned on the shower and pushed Annabeth in, all of her clothes still on and Annabeth started fighting with Thalia to get out of the shower. "Just leave me alone!" Annabeth sobbed as she shoved Thalia hard and Annabeth slid down onto the floor of the shower and sobbed into her knees as the water rained down on her. "Get out and leave me alone Thalia. Just leave me alone to wallow in my misery, to just crawl into my dark hole to die. Please Thalia; I am begging you, just go!" Annabeth cried._

_Thalia was heartbroken to see her friend so broken; she had never seen anyone so broken, so shattered before. Annabeth had never been hurt as badly as she felt currently. Thalia obeyed Annabeth's wish but not before she turned off the running shower and knelt down and looked into Annabeth's red-tinged stormy eyes. "Alright, I will go for now, but I will be back with reinforcements." Thalia promised and then she stormed out of the shower and out the room, Annabeth heard the door of her apartment open and then slammed shut._

_Annabeth remained seated on the floor of her shower, pouring her broken heart out into her knees, feeling so sorry for herself. She had never felt this hurt before, nothing her mother did to her while she was growing up compared to this, not even all of it combined compared to the pain she felt right at this moment, she felt so sorry for herself, thinking that maybe all this time, her mother had been right about how evil love and relationships were._

_She heard noises coming from outside the bathroom but she didn't move an inch, she just wanted to stay in her dark hole and die. The door of the bathroom creaked open and Annabeth looked up sobbing, "Just leave me alone Thalia." But it wasn't Thalia, it was her mother. "Mom what are you doing here." She demanded angrily._

_"Thalia pulled me out my office like a crazy woman and told me what has happened between you and Luke. Come on Annabeth, please get up off of the floor. Thalia has a rough way of getting people motivated, come on." Athena encouraged her daughter as she grabbed a large Egyptian cotton towel and stepped into the shower in her designer suit and wrapped the towel around her shivering wreck of a daughter._

_Annabeth stood up and her mother led her out of the shower and into her lounge where there were many familiar faces standing and seated on the floor and couches of her apartment. Annabeth stared at everyone who was in her apartment. "What is everyone doing here?" She questioned all of her family and friends in the room._

_Her entire band was standing in front of her television, he dad, step-mom and her brothers were seated on the couches, Thalia stood against the apartment door with her arms crossed, Juniper was leaning against the kitchen counter with her husband, Grover right next to her, Apollo stood next to Thalia and Athena went and grabbed a stool for Annabeth to sit down on and went and sat down next to Frederick Chase._

_"What are you guys doing here?" Annabeth asked as she sat down on the stool and started drying her wet matted hair. She was shivering like crazy because of her wet clothes. "I want to be left alone, to drown in my own misery, please why can't you just leave me alone." Annabeth begged as tears formed in her eyes once more, as she remained seated on her stool._

_"Annabeth, you are a woman not a child. Shut up and be quiet, open your ears and grow up. This is not how I raised you to behave." Athena said sternly, trying her best not to blow a gasket. Annabeth's lip quivered as she lowered her gaze from her mother's eyes as she started to sulk, she hated being treated like a child even though she knew that she was acting like one at the moment. "See, she would not be acting like this if it wasn't for you Frederick, I always said that..."_

_"Mom, this has nothing to with how I was raised." Annabeth interrupted._

_"Annabeth, I will not be spoken to..."_

_"Mom enough. I am a grown woman, I do not need to be treated like a four year old. I am not going to let you walk over me. I refuse to listen until you stop treating me like a baby. I am allowed to cry, I am allowed to act prematurely but I am a grown woman and you must respect that you don't run my life. So until you treat me like a person and not an assistant, I will be in my room, you can show yourselves out." Annabeth stood up and started walking towards her bedroom but Thalia dashed and stood in Annabeth's path._

_Annabeth could tell that Thalia was glaring death at her dear mother but honestly she didn't care. She was glaring at Thalia, mentally telling her to move and Thalia was telling her to go and sit down. "Please Annabeth, just go and sit down, as your friend, I am begging you to please just sit down and hear us out. Athena, I know you don't care for my friendship with Annabeth but none the less, she is your daughter and whether or not she wants to admit it, she needs you." Thalia begged in the most convincing tone she could muster._

_Athena rolled her eyes and stared to the side for a moment and then huffed out a deep breath. "Fine Annabeth, I am sorry, please take a seat." Annabeth felt satisfied and sat back down on the but that didn't mean that Annabeth was going to listen. "Annabeth, I know what you are thinking. Please, we just want to help you, that's all. So it is your turn to listen now." Athena said sternly, making Annabeth want to sulk as she stared down at her lap, twiddling her thumbs, thinking deeply about what her mother said._

_"Fine, I will listen for now but as soon as you are done, will you promise to leave me alone if I chose to ignore your advice." They all nodded, agreeing to Annabeth's terms and she sighed. "Alright, I am all ears; you have ten minutes, enough time to each say something and when you are all done you can leave me alone." Everyone looked at Athena and she groaned as she stared at her daughter._

_"Fine. I will go first." Athena said calmly to her daughter. "Annabeth, we all know you deserve so much better than you received from Luke. Now I know that I may not be the best mother in the world, considering I hate your career choice but I do know that you can't let this hold you back, we all care much about you and want to help you back onto your feet, you need to stop behaving like a four year old."_

_Annabeth opened her mouth to argue, but her dad interrupted "Annabeth, your mother has a point." Frederick spoke up, defending his ex-wife. "You are so much more than this, I know that you are hurt, but you can't neglect your life, it is just stupid to sit around here, hiding out and feeling sorry for yourself." Her father spoke sternly, trying to make his daughter see how silly she was acting._

_"You are my best friend in the world. I can vouch for the band when I say this, that you have been the biggest and greatest thing to have walked through the doors of the studio." The entire band nodded in agreement with Thalia's statement. "You are stronger and better than this, it's time to hike up your skirt and grow a pair. You should be focusing on your career, it's more important than moping over that sorry ass."_

_"But how can I when he made a mockery of me in front of everyone, he destroyed my worth, how can I just move on when I am all alone." Annabeth shouted, but her voice cracked so her statement came out garbled like she was sobbing once again._

_"You are so wrong my dear girl." Apollo spoke calmly. "Heartache is painful, yes but you can't let it hold you back from life, I know what you are going through, it happened to me but I didn't let it hold me back, yes I was broken and beaten down, I felt like dying but you get nowhere feeling sorry for yourself, you need to take those first steps back to your life and you have all of us." He said softly as he walked to Annabeth's side, not caring that she was dripping wet and hugged her._

_"We are here to help you through it, but you have to try. You don't want him to be right, you are not worthless, you are not hopeless and you are certainly not a phony, don't let him win. A Chase does not lose to anyone; don't let him win the game when you are already a winner." Athena spoke highly and Annabeth felt a spark of something hot brewing within her._

_"Are you going to let him win Annabeth? Are you a failure, are you washed out and are you a nobody?" Thalia growled sternly and Apollo released Annabeth and she stood up and looked at everyone, seeing their faces and feeling their support was making all the difference._

_"No…"_

* * *

><p>That day, that day they were all there for her, she felt stronger than she had in her entire life. She was ready to start up her life again but she decided that Luke should stay because he was still her friend, she was softer and more prone to hurt than anyone realized and she cried everyday he mocked her and ignored her and she felt so stupid for that.<p>

That day that she stopped feeling sorry for herself was ten months ago and she was still trying to move on but now she believed she could. Through those ten months, she always wanted to be back with him because she was madly in love with the man and she wanted him to be with her but he didn't feel anything for her, that's why he was with Calypso. She never got any answers to why he did that to her because she was too hurt to try. Now, everything was actually different, because she met Percy.

She could clearly see herself with someone like Percy. She could vaguely hear Thalia's voice saying, 'Annabeth Chase, you would be better off telling the guy who you are first off instead of lying to him.' Thalia wanted Annabeth to be happy. She decided to take a moment, to weight her options, to take a look back at the life she had, to see if any of this was really worth it.

All Annabeth, all she knew, her entire life was dedicated on how to be a hard working and focused student. That is what her mother made and wanted her to be, Annabeth never had time to be a regular child, to be a regular teenager, let alone to have a normal social life. Yes she had friends, but she could only have friends that her mother approved of, which was Luke, and her mother hated Thalia, and Annabeth lied to go and hang out with Thalia and she was badly punished, whenever her mother caught her with her best friend.

When she was sixteen, and got this career opportunity from just singing on the street to a song on her mp3 player, it was her favourite back then. She was singing on her way to Thalia's house in the country by her dad's house and not to her mother's house in the city. Annabeth never really had a mother to look up to, she just had a hired mother to stay and look after her, and very rarely did her mother actually come and be at home because she was focused on her work, her empire that was Chase Industries, the top architecture firm in the USA.

She closed her eyes, wanting to see that day again, to feel the excitement she did when she was offered a chance to follow her real dream, and not her mother's dream for her daughter to succeed her when she passed down Chase Industries to her daughter. It was a quiet Friday afternoon, and she was walking down to the bus stop so she could ride it out of the city to her father's house in the country...

* * *

><p><em>Annabeth was walking down, through the main street of her home city, California. It was filled with so much life and everyone was driving down the road to get to lunch as soon as possible. It was the lunch hour rush and life was far too busy for a sixteen year old girl such as Annabeth.<em>

_She has her earphones in, and she is searching for her favorite song, Everytime by Brittany Spears. She hummed the tune to herself as she arrived at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to arrive like she did every Friday at lunch._

_**Everytime I try to fly**_  
><em><strong>I fall without my wings<strong>_  
><em><strong>I feel so small<strong>_  
><em><strong>I guess I need you baby<strong>_  
><em><strong>And everytime I see you in my dreams<strong>_  
><em><strong>I see your face, you're haunting me<strong>_  
><em><strong>I guess I need you baby<strong>_

_She loved singing, but her mother always told her to shut up and that is a waste of time and that she should be focusing on her studies and not this stupid singing dream of Annabeth's. As Annabeth sung, she noticed someone watching her and she pulled out her earphones looked at the middle aged man with a smile on his face._

_He was wearing a casual pair of old worn out baggy jeans with a hanging chain belt, a pair of white designer sneakers and he had on a plain white t-shirt with nothing on it and a set of dog tags around his neck. He had blonde hair and he looked young and seemed to have a deep story to him._

_"I am sorry if I was disturbing you sir." Annabeth apologized, feeling embarrassed for bringing unwanted attention to her, and she tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and tried to hide the blush creeping up onto her cheeks._

_"No, I was quite enjoying the little show." Annabeth couldn't help but laugh at this strange unknown man but he seemed like quite a relaxed and laid back man. "Say, have you ever considered going into a music career at all because your voice is very beautiful and unique."_

_"I have but my mother believes that I will never be able to make it in the business, all she believes in is work, work and more work." Annabeth admitted to the stranger. "If I got the chance to be a singer, I would take it because I want to follow my dreams, not my mother's."_

_"Well what would you say if I could make your dream come true." The man said in a curious tone as he stood up and walked up to Annabeth and handed her a car. Annabeth looked down at the card and her eyes went wide. "I am Apollo Solace, owner of Apollo records and I have been scouting for young talents, and I am offering you a record deal."_

_Annabeth wanted to scream for joy but her mother would never let her do this. "I wish I could but I am just sixteen, and mother will never agree to it, so I have to sorry but I cannot."_

_"I believe that I can make you a big name, in fact, take me to see your mother, next Friday, you can meet me here and take me to see your mother and I can convince her that you can make it big, does that sound fair enough, umm..." he offered his hand but he wanted to know the girl's name._

_"Annabeth Chase, and I would appreciate it." Annabeth grasped the Apollo's hand firmly "I will give you her number and you can give her a call." Annabeth said as she took a pen out her pocket and started writing her mother's personal number on his hand and smiled. "I have to go, hope to be working with you someday." Annabeth said hopefully and she climbed onto the bus that had pulled up and waved good-bye to Apollo who smiled and began thinking about her possible future..._

* * *

><p>Annabeth never thought of how different her life would be compared to the life she had previously, it was different to see what her life was like now and to see how much better she was. It was just incredible, it excited Annabeth, and her mother basically swore her out when Annabeth told her that she was going into a music career.<p>

Her mother said absolutely not and only agreed to the terms of the career as long as Annabeth finished her studies and got her degree in architecture, but Athena Chase only agreed to let Annabeth go for her music career believing that the music career was going to fail, and look where she is now, on top of her game now.

The only person who supported her from her family side was her father, he was always there for her, he tried everything to give her the free life his daughter deserved but his ex-wife wouldn't have it. Annabeth was the reason they got a divorce, when she was like six, nearly seven, she found out that her father had been seeing someone else, a woman named Susan and she was pregnant with Annabeth's half brothers, Athena honestly didn't care who her husband was sleeping with and they decided together to separate.

It was best for them, Athena could finally focus completely on her career, on her empire, and Frederick Chase, could finally have the family he wanted with a kind, caring and attentive wife. He always visited Annabeth but Athena would never let Annabeth go and be with her father because he was a distraction to Annabeth's focus and he always tried to help his daughter, but she always got punished for him trying to help his daughter try to have a decent life but it was so unsuccessful and ended up hurting Annabeth, even though all of that happened, he was still her bright light.

Percy was different than most guys, just from looking at him, she saw he had a deep story, the way he spoke to her on the phone, he was very hesitant, so he obviously had a hard and strained life, that was from a logical point of view, but from a first impression, he was laid back, relaxed persona. She could see by his mildly swollen eyes and hesitant nature that he had a rough life, the way he stood was as if he there was a grey cloud hanging about his head.

She tapped her finger lightly on her thigh, as the gears of her mind, cranked and turned as she thought about all of Percy's tells. Like she thought before, even though he had a bright and infectious smile, he seemed to be in a dark place by the way he walked and even talked. Something about him seemed…off, however even with that in mind, she was intrigued by this man, with his wind-swept messy black hair and his deep sea green eyes reminded her of the Atlantic, and he had that salty and addicting scent that made Annabeth crave for more.

She noticed that he was wearing quite comfortable clothes but they were covering something, so that added mystery to him. Annabeth wanted to know everything about this complex soul that was Percy Jackson but she had to approach this from a sensible and logic angle, not from a crazy, love struck teenager point of view.

Besides Luke, she had one other relationship but it wasn't even worth remembering in her mind, he was just a loser in her mind, not even he made any kind of difference in her life and they were only together for a month, very short and that was before she became an item with Luke, for four years, she regretted ever giving that poser a chance. She finally felt a sense of relief, a weight had been lifted off of her shoulder and she finally felt at peace with herself. All she needed was time to think and she finally had done it.

Annabeth sighed, feeling better than she had ever felt in a long time and she smiled as she grabbed her bag and made sure she had her disguise. She walked out the back and climbed into her car with her driver Charles already seated inside. She smiled as she climbed in the back and Charles started the car. "Oh Charlie, I have a date tomorrow as Anna so I need you to take me to the north entrance to the park tomorrow, and mention if the guy sees you that my name is Anna."

"Don't have to remind me again, I always do so Anna." Charlie grinned and Annabeth returned a smile, ready to have fun on her date tomorrow. Just by looking at Percy today, she felt something, sensed something different about him. He was handsome, well-built and so caring and conservative. But behind that cool and composed facade she could sense a depth to him; she could sense that he had a deep story, a past was that haunted him, she could see that he had a sad story that made him sensitive and caring.

She liked that about Percy and she didn't even know anything about him yet. She wanted to know everything about him because she could see everything and it made her curious and she was always the inquisitive one. She was looking forward to getting to know Percy, maybe just maybe she might have just found the right man she could possibly love and maybe he might fall in love with her too. The possibilities were endless and she would only know tomorrow when she meets him for coffee tomorrow.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed my first chapter, Please review, favorite, PM, do anything, I want to hear what you think and I appreciate any insights you have and I want to make a shout out to my awesome Beta Reader, round of applause for Akakuro4869, you rock and I owe you a lot for helping me out with this. You Rule. Also, a huge thank you goes to Captainravenworld for all the fantastic advice you have given me. Just a heads up, the next chapter will be up soon, this is good-bye for now, see you on the next chapter, Peace Out Fictioneers.<strong>

**~Michaela~ **


	3. Coffee Date

Chapter Three: Coffee Date

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan's  
>Percy Jackson and the Olympians<br>and the Heroes of Olympus Series, and I do not  
>own the songs I put into this book either.<br>I only own my fan made characters and of course  
>the plot line.<strong>

Added Songs – In Order Of Appearance  
><em>Begin Again –Taylor Swift.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>~Author's note~<strong>

**Thanks for all who have supported for my story. It's fantastic, you guys are fantastic. I decided that I wanted to post this chapter on Christmas so i could give out a shout to my awesome fans. You guys make us authors possible. I Hope you have a merry Christmas and a wonderful Boxing day too.**

**Anyway, Here is chapter three, give a shout out to ****Captainravenworld ****for helping me out with all the advice you have given me and thanks to my awesome beta reader ****Akakuro4869, you are awesome, thanks a lot, I own you a tonne. Anyway, here is the next chapter, please enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Percy smiled as he fixed his buttoned up short sleeved shirt. It was a regular cream shirt and he wore a simple black tie and he fixed his hair. He was a little nervous but he was on. He grabbed his grey vest that Reyna made him wear to thanksgiving with her family last time he saw them two years ago. His jeans fit comfortably; regular skinny jeans and he fixed the laces of his black trainers.<p>

He grabbed a red rose to give to her as a present, "A beautiful rose for a beautiful woman." He smiled at himself. Anna was beautiful, truly she was. It made Percy feel slightly nervous but he was as calm. He grabbed his wallet and his car keys and went and put the things in his car and went up and locked his apartment door before he climbed in his Subaru, expensive yes, a gift from his father for his twenty third birthday. His dad owned the largest marine biology research center in the US.

There were only two occasions where Percy used his car: to visit his parents or to drive himself to school when the weather was bad. Preferably, Percy preferred to walk to work after class which is what happened yesterday, he went and parked his car outside his apartment and then he walked to work and just to be safe, he caught the bus back to his apartment.

Ever since Percy could remember, he had always had a fascination towards the sea. Devouring each book that he could get his hands on about this large body of with a renewed gusto. Before he knew it, he began researching and entering the world of Marine Biology, a decision that he does not regret because he loved the ocean; it was his life. When he arrived at the cafe, it was quarter to nine, so he had plenty of time before they were suppose to meet. Percy had always be well mannered and punctual. He switched off the engine of his car and climbed out the car, heading straight for the front entrance of the park with the rose in his hand. He stood there, casually leaning against the wall by the entrance, anxiously waiting for Anna to arrive.

He heard his named being called out, a few minutes after he arrived. Looking to his left, a bright smile creeping onto his face when he saw her walking in the direction of him in a short sleeved knee length summer yellow dress and a thin black belt around her waist and she had her curly black hair in single loose ponytail. She had on a small miniature short sleeved jacket to go with it. She looked spectacular, Percy never expected her to wear a dress and she was absolutely beautiful

Percy was a little taken back by her beauty but shook his head and smiled and he looked directly into her eyes were mesmerizing and he waved at her and she smiled. She was right on time, and that made Percy's smile grown even bright. "Hey, I am glad you could meet me today." Percy said as he handed her the rose that he had brought for her.

"Well I am the lucky one. I am glad you called me." She said as she blushed, moving a strand of her curly black hair out of her face. Percy smiled brightly, his gaze fixated on her flushed cheeks and nervous gaze. "You want to get a table at the cafe." She suggested and Percy smiled brightly and nodded. They crossed the road and entered the cafe, getting a corner booth and took their seats.

A waitress walked up to the enthusiastically with a pen and paper in hand, grinning, looking through the corner of her eyes at Percy, Anna noticing. She figured that Percy worked here so he was popular at the cafe but the brunette's smile was more of a grin than a smile directed at Percy. Anna grew curious but didn't let it show as Percy ordered then their coffees. Within two minutes, the waitress returned with two piping hot cups for Percy and Anna.

"So, did you have a good evening?" Percy asked curiously, which made Anna smile that intoxicating smile of hers that just brightened up the room. He found it absolutely addictive and found himself smiling as bright as she did. He sipped his premium blend coffee, savoring the strong and revitalizing taste as the tiredness drifted off of him.

"I did," Anna answered enthusiastically, cradling her cup in between her delicate small hands, he gaze directed at Percy, "I went back to my job which I enjoy. I am an architectural designer. I work for one of the top architecture firms here in New York; Chase industries." Percy smiled and it clicked at the sound of that name. It just clicked in his mind; Chase industries are, run by Pop sensation Annabeth Chase's mother, Athena Chase and it is currently the largest architecture firm in New York and the most successful one in New York. "So, what do you do besides work here in the cafe?" Anna pried which Percy didn't mind; it was a date after all.

"I am a student at NYU; I am studying for my masters in marine biology." Anna smiled, finding it so interesting about Percy's life. "So, where did you study architecture?" Percy asked curiously and Anna smiled as she sipped her cup of coffee, her gaze still focused on Percy's curious face.

"I went to Harvard, graduated with full distinction. I know, as soon as I say Harvard people ask me, were you in the same group class with Annabeth Chase, it drives me insane." Percy laughed and cracked a lopsided smile that Anna found so relaxing breaking the tension a little, worried he might figure out who she is. "Everyone knows that because of her career and success, she had to do a night class."

Percy nodded in agreement. "I know, I am a fan of hers I admit, there is something different about her music, the lyrics are filled with stories, and they are different." Anna was interested in this, and she listened with intrigue. "I like her music but I am more interested in finding out about Anna Olympia, not if you knew Annabeth Chase." Anna smiled, nearly bursting into tears at how sweet Percy was being, how uncaring he was that she went to Harvard where Annabeth Chase (her of course) went. "So, tell me about yourself, relationship wise."

"Well, I have had very few, mainly being very focused on my career, I had very few relationships, two actually. One I had when I was a mere sixteen years old and then I had a very serious one that ended in me getting my heart broken badly." Anna said sadly, it was true, her last boyfriend was of course Luke Castellan, he cheated on her and now he wanted a new relationship with her. "He cheated on me but he was more like a brother to me and the betrayal hurt me badly."

Percy desired nothing more than to help eradicate her deep sorrow felt at this moment. As a veteran in this field, he found himself wanting elevate the very anguish Anna felt because he knew that no amount of physical pain could come anywhere near the emotional pain that both he and Anna had experienced. Somehow he found a creeping desire to be more than a comforting figure, he wanted to be give her more than comfort and support, no, he wanted to show her something more meaningful, something like love.

"I know how it feels. I have had three relationships in my life time." Percy confessed honestly, which surprised Anna. She never met a guy that was honest about their relationship history, and she could tell by that Percy was telling the truth, his eyes and body language told her everything that she needed know. She had learnt her lesson after Luke and she wasn't going to be destroyed again, not by anyone. "I got cheated on and dumped two out of the three times."

"I don't mean to nag or invade your private life but what happened with the third cause you said you only ever had three serious relationships and that you only got dumped twice. What happened with the third girl?" She asked, digging a little deeper into Percy's history, crossing into the point of no return. He hasn't spoken of Reyna for the entire year she had been gone and he didn't ever want to because it terrified him how badly hr would break down when he spoke of her, let alone hearing her name.

His hands started trembling, his breathing faltered as he gripped his empty cup in his right hand, shattering the coffee mug with his iron grip. Splinters of clay were embedded with in his palm, minuscule droplets of blood dripping from his hand when he releases the broken mug, his blood staining the pure white table cloth, Anna's face covered with worry and concern. She had never seen a person crush a coffee mug with one hand before.

"My apologies Anna. I didn't mean for that to happen, I thought that I was ready to talk about it but I guess that I am not." Percy apologized, pulling his hand towards him as he searched for a napkin or cloth of sorts. He wouldn't dare meet Anna's gaze, feeling embarrassed and ashamed of his actions, not wanting to see her embarrassed gaze. He cursed under his breath, there was no sign of a paper napkin anywhere for him to use, as blood still dripped from his hand onto the white table cloth.

Anna thanked the Gods of Olympus that Percy had chosen them a corner booth, where it was highly secluded and she thanked the stars that no one had noticed them. She dug inside her purse and pulled out her handkerchief she had made herself. She had embroidered the capital 'A' in the bottom left corner of the handkerchief herself. She met Percy's nervous gaze and she cracked a smile as she got up on her feet and walked around the table and sat next to Percy.

"It's ok; you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, just give me your hand." Annabeth asked politely, Percy hesitantly handed Anna his hand, leaning his elbow on the table as Anna dug in her purse and pulled out a set of three tweezers. "I don't use these often because they are just in case, my best friend makes me keep them even though I had wearing make-up. I very rarely use make-up and these, and like I said, it's none of my business so you don't have to tell me Percy." Anna spoke with a friendly grin plastered on her face.

Percy stared at her with a look of genuine surprise, he did not expect her to be so considerate of his feelings and emotions and he didn't expect Anna to start laughing as she began removing the shards of his coffee mug from his hand. Her laugh wasn't the kind you heard from a bunch of high school girl mocking someone, no, this one was a real, and genuine laugh and it made Percy smile, he couldn't control his smile as she remained focused on her set task. "Can I ask what is so funny Anna." Percy asked curiously as Anna pulled shard after shard out of the palm of his hand.

Anna waved her hand, smiling to herself as she removed another splinter from Percy's hand. "It's for no reason. It's just..." Annabeth stopped what she was doing and looked up at Percy with a warm and comforting smile as he stared down into her eyes. "...if you ever want to talk about anything what so ever, you can talk to me about absolutely anything. I am here for you, whenever you need someone to talk to, you can come to me if you want to. Anyway, if you are uncomfortable about talking about your ex with me, that's okay with me." She said softly, returning to Percy's hand.

Percy smile grew, even through his tears, he made his choice and shook his head at Anna. "Talking about it is the only way I can move forward in my life." Percy gasped as Anna pulled out the last remaining shard out of Percy's hand, it was in very deep and it was rather large in size and it hurt badly. Blood poured a little faster from the wound on his hand, it didn't bother Anna as she picked up her handkerchief and wrapped it around Percy's hand tentatively before gripping it gently and she looked up into Percy's eyes, ready to hear what Percy had to say, still cradling his injured hand.

"I met her when I was half way through my first year of University, her name was Reyna. We connected instantly, we were in love, and one year ago she died in an explosion on the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier, she was in the Navy." Anna's heart died inside, the tragedy already shinning through, Percy's eyes became dark and unreadable, he began biting his lip as a way to rid himself of the emotional pain but it wasn't working, his injured hand forming a fist.

Anna cradled his hand tighter, her supportive and comforting smile not vacating from her face at all as she remained focused on the destroyed man crumbling before. "Percy, its ok, I am right here, keep going, let it off your chest." She edged him on, shifted closer to him so that she was basically next to him so that she could comfort him more, if he allowed her too. Percy cracked a small smile as he looked down at his hand that Anna held so delicately, feeling calmer, he released his fist and Anna placed her's on top of his and he closed his hand around her, gripping it gently.

"She was supposed to be coming back, two days after the day the accident happened, which was actually two days before Christmas. When she came back, I was going to ask her to marry me." Anna's expression softened as this man fell apart in front of her, she knew he had a sad story but didn't expect anything like that, nothing as painful as finding the one only to lose them forever. "I have always been afraid to start again, afraid to find the one, only to lose them too like I did Reyna."

"Well, this is a new start for the both of us. We can help each other find ourselves again." Anna said as they turned to face each other and Anna stretched her hand up towards Percy's face and cupped his right cheek with her hand, wiping away each and every one of his tears, falling from his eyes. "I know that I can't replace the love of your life, I can't make you forget her, but I can try and help you find you again." Percy smiled and leaned into her hand more and she smiled.

"I would like that very much. I want to find peace with myself again, and I would very much like to have you with me through it." Anna stood up and kissed his forehead, which made Percy smile; he felt warm and fuzzy, electricity shot through him when Anna kissed his forehead. He had a sense of déjà vu, it reminded him of how his mom kissed the top of his head lovingly, every night she tucked him in bed. That same love from that kiss his mom gave him, he felt in Anna's kiss on his head.

Percy smiled and started laughing and Anna stared at him with a shocked expression as Percy laughed out loud for absolutely no reason. "Can I ask you what you currently find so funny, Percy?" She inquired in a curious and quizzing tone, with a smile creepy across her face, growing wider and wider, Percy's laugh becoming more and more infectious by the minute and soon Anna found herself giggling a little.

"No, I am laughing because it's a little strange. Here I am, pouring out my heart and soul to an almost complete stranger and oddly, it doesn't hurt as much talking about anymore, I feel so much better now, thanks to you." Anna found that rather interesting, talking about Luke with a complete stranger was the most incredible thing that she had ever felt. Personally for Anna, she didn't feel like she was breaking, for once in the last ten months, talking about Luke hurting her, no longer hurt and if felt good.

"I see what you mean, talking about my ex, it doesn't bother me anymore, it's like it never happened. Wouldn't you agree?" Percy nodded at Anna, a small blush creeping across his face as he realized that he was still holding onto her hand. She looked down and started blushing like crazy and started pulling her hand away but Percy gripped it tighter. "I don't mind." He smiled brightly and Anna returned it. "Do you want to go to the park?"

"I would love that." Anna answered and that was the start of it. They spent the entire day together, just talking, laughing and just enjoying each other's company. Percy couldn't take his eyes off of Anna's face, and she still gripped his hand the entire day and it didn't faze him and he still couldn't forget the warmth he felt when Anna cupped his cheek, how warm and delicate her nimble fingers felt against his cheek, it was a wonderful feeling.

The warmth he felt when she kissed his forehead was so wonderful, it felt so special to him because it gave him a sense of welcome into Anna's heart. He felt that he could open up to her about anything and everything and it scared him but at the same time made him feel better about this, that he was doing the right thing right now, moving on felt greater.

Anna couldn't get over how lovable and kind hearted Percy was, she couldn't stop thinking about how this macho man before her could be such a gentle soul, how easily people manipulated that side of him, (meaning his ex's before Reyna) and seeing how hung up he was over the loss of Reyna made her heart melt as she spent her time with him.

They had so many laughs, a few cries but it was one of the best days of both of their lives. They were at the cafe until lunch, and then they went to the park and went for a long walk, laughing and chasing each other when Percy threw some mud at Anna and then she splashed him with water, the children who always went to the park joined in and played with Percy and Anna.

She couldn't believe how genuine this guy was, and he did so genuine, that is shocked Anna; he went and bought them both some ice cream, no guy had ever bought Anna an ice cream on a date, talk about clique and cute. In all her life, Anna had never met such a hopeless romantic. She loved how he treated her like an equal and not just a woman, and yet still respected her as a woman. He wasn't rude; he was just like a gigantic softy cuddly teddy bear in comparison.

Percy was amazed at how well rounded Anna was, how cheerful and playful she was, when she joined in the fun with him, how she just went with the flow which is what he liked in a woman, she just smiled and giggled when he was silly or was a little clumsy and he was amazed at how kind hearted she was, not mocking him for his clumsiness. He enjoyed the afternoon and before they knew it, the day was over, it was six in the evening and they were walking up to Percy's car.

"Today was the best day ever." Percy said as he gripped her hand, they acted like they were together for years. "I was very afraid but I feel like I can finally let go of Reyna now." Anna's heart skipped a beat as she looked at Percy, a warm smile on his face, which made Anna return his smile as she leaned against his arm and sighed contently, feeling a warm and fuzzy feeling growing in her stomach.

"I had a wonderful day with you Percy." She whispered as she looked into his soft and irresistible green eyes, that had a bright light in them that she didn't see before, not even yesterday when they met. He had opened up to her about everything, all of his heart break, his successes, and his determination, his struggles and how happy he was now even though it was still a struggle.

"Well today was the best day of my life, well besides the day that my parents took me to the carnival, it was my favorite day. They took me on the Ferris Wheel and it was the best day ever." He said calmly, not thinking that Annabeth was listening but she was, the carnival was in town, and maybe they could go.

She was open about everything with him, everything she told him was the truth, it was all of Annabeth Chase's stories and her trials and tribulations, only the part about being Annabeth Chase and being a song writer were kept hidden. She was only lying about her name, her job, but everything else was true.

"So would you like a ride home, I would love to drive you home." Percy asked as they arrived at his car. "Please, I really would love to make sure that you get home safely." Anna froze, but she quickly came up with an idea. She still had her old apartment that no-one knew about that would be perfect. There was no photo's but it was still fully furnished.

"Sure, I'd love you to take me home, if it's not a problem. It's not far from here so it shouldn't take us long to get there." His face beamed, she smiled happy to make him smile. He unlocked his car and shot round and opened the door for her and Anna climbed in and he closed the door and jumped into the driver's door.

"Ok, where do we go?" He asked as he turned on his GPS, and Anna punched in the address and Percy starts the car and they are off.

15 Minutes Later...

Anna smiled brightly at Percy, laughing at his pleasant and amusing banter, taking out her apartment keys and placed it in the key hole, tempted to open the door and ask if Percy wanted to come in or not, but dared not. A ghost of a frown appeared on her face, _'Not yet,' _she thought to herself, turning to face Percy, a familiar feeling of excitement fluttering with in her stomach as she looked at the handsome man before her, hope in his eyes but he shook his head, knowing that it wasn't time yet.

Anna breathed in deeply, leaning against the door of her apartment, an almost love struck grin forming on her face."Thank you for such a wonderful day, it was one of the best dates I have ever had in my entire life." Percy grinned as he took her hands in his; his gaze was gentle and soft as he stared deeply into Anna's eyes. She was slightly blushing but giggled as Percy smirked at her, his smirk making her giggle.

"I am the one who should be thanking you Anna. This really has been a truly amazing day and you really have helped me a tonne. I owe you Anna." He gripped her hands as he smiled the lopsided smile that made Anna's heart race. It was so warm and friendly, she was amazed by this guy. "I hope to see you again Anna, I really do."

Anna smiled, going on her tippy toes and planted a kiss on Percy's cheek, which made him blush slightly but he just grinned. "I would love to go out with you again. You have my number, text, message me, email me, whenever, cause I really had a wonderful time."

"I will chat to you tomorrow, I have classes until one but message me whenever. Cool." She nodded in agreement as she released his hands and opened her door. Percy looked down at his hand, realizing that he still had her handkerchief around his hand. "Oh, your handkerchief, I still have it." Percy spoke up, wanting to take it off but Anna stepped forward and placed her hand on top of his, shaking her head innocently.

"Don't worry about it, you keep it. I have quite a few, I am not going to miss one." She had a grin on her face and Percy couldn't help but smile. He felt no pain in his hand but he would have to bandage it up properly when he got home but that didn't faze him at all. "I had better get in and catch so zees, so I don't wake up late for work tomorrow." Percy nodded, understanding her logic completely. "Good night Percy."

"Bye Anna." He whispered as she entered her apartment. She smiled and leaned against the wall.

"Bye." She whispered as she closed the door and Percy tucked his hands in his pockets and turned round and left.

Percy entered his apartment and sighed contently as he leaned against his door. He felt amazing, today had been completely unexpected and a real dream. She completely understood his situation and respected his boundaries and she considered his feelings. In so many ways, she reminded him of Reyna, but the thing is she was nothing like Reyna.

Anna was everything Reyna wanted to be. She was similar to Reyna in some ways, but she was different, so unique, he was feeling the same way he did towards Reyna after their first few dates and he was already feeling it with Anna. He wanted to protect her, be with her through it all. He was starting to fall for her, and it was all so quick, it seemed surreal for him.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out, unlocking the screen and tapping the message open. He smiled brightly, it was from Anna.

* * *

><p><em>Hey, checking if you got home safely and I wanted to say good night to you. I had a wonderful time and I just wanted you to know that.<em>

_From Anna_

* * *

><p>Percy smiled and furiously typed a reply before hitting the send button, hoping to get a reply back quickly from Anna. He couldn't help but feel so relaxed; he had never felt this way in years. It was something new and something exciting and Percy was enjoying it, he didn't want this new sensation to stop that brewed within him.<p>

* * *

><p><em>I am home safe, am not going to bed yet, have revision for a test tomorrow to do but that won't stop me from replying you beautiful. And for the record, I think I had a better time than you.<em>

_From Percy_

* * *

><p>He popped his phone back in his pocket and heads to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and heading to his study where he sat down and opened his text book and note book, starting to write down little notes to remember for his test tomorrow. His phone buzzed and he pulled it back out and opens his message, grinning again.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Well I don't want to distract you from your studies, I know how they can get but I had a way better time than you. How many times did you slip and dunk your face in the water of the pond Seaweed Brain.<em>

_From Anna_

* * *

><p>Percy laughed uncontrollably, he liked the nickname she had dictated and christened him with, and it wasn't his fault. All the kids kept pushing him down, face first into the water. He was clumsy a few times but just smiled and Anna found it cut and adorable. He quickly typed back, feeling left out, gave her a nickname too.<p>

* * *

><p><em>That was not my fault, and you're one to talk Wise Girl. Not so smart when I caught you out huh. You are so smart but I stumped you out on one question. It was a question about your favorite show, what is the name of the hospital in Grey's Anatomy. Who's the smart one now Wise Girl?<em>

_From Percy_

* * *

><p>He smiled, satisfied with his chosen nickname, he opened his laptop and powered it up, having just remembered that he had to finish his assignment that was due tomorrow. Lucky he didn't have much left to do of it. His phone was ringing but not a message tone, he was getting a phone call, looking at the caller ID, and he smiled and answered the call.<p>

"Hi mom, how are you." He answered happily as he held his phone to his ear with his shoulder as he searched through his files for his assignment.

_"I have been trying to call you all day. We were supposed to have today at your place and you weren't at home. It's your day off, where were you." _His mom complained her voice high and full of worry and panic. Percy groaned and slapped his forehead, he forgot about his mom coming over every Wednesday for lunch to catch up.

"Mom, I am sorry. I went out on a date, only got home at six, and was with my date the whole day. I am so sorry, I forgot to call and let you know I was going to be out today." Percy apologized to his mom, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

_"I am going to kill you. You were out on a date and for..." _She went silent, and then she screamed. Percy cringed at the scream and his giggly mother. _"You were out on a date. For the first time in a year. Oh My Gosh! Are you kidding with me right now Percy, please don't let this be a prank." _Percy's mom prayed through the line, causing Percy to laugh at his mom.

"I am being one hundred percent serious with you, mom. I just got home ten minutes ago, I was out all day with her." Percy answered, shaking his head at his mother as he leaned back in his office chair, relaxing as he spoke on the phone. "Her name is Anna Olympia, she is a Harvard graduate and she is architectural designer at Chase Industries."

Percy's mom giggled like a high school girl buying a new pair of shoes. _"You are serious. Oh, I can't believe this; I have to tell Paul, I have to tell everyone." _Percy laughed out loud, shaking his head once more at his mother's absurd and outrageous idea, it was just starting, there was no guarantee that they would become official so early in the relationship.

"Mom, it's too soon to tell if it will last, it's only been the first date and we are both very tentative going into this relationship, it's her first time dating in almost a year as well, so we are taking it one day at a time mom." Percy admitted, standing up and headed to the bathroom and pulled out a bottle of disinfectant, some cotton wool and a bandage. Turning on the water, Percy removed Annabeth's handkerchief and dropped in the sink, sticking his hand under the water and washing away the dried blood with soap.

Percy put his phone on speaker phone and set it neatly on top of the cabinet so he could still talk to his mom. _"That is good, slow is the way to go, I am so happy for you too Percy, I really hope it works out for you both. I am so proud that you are trying again. I wish you the best of luck. I have to go, Paul is waiting for me, so__ I am going to leave you to do your work and study for your test tomorrow. Good luck my son, I love you."_

"Love you to mom. Say hi to Paul for me." Percy said happily. Paul was his mom's new husband, he treats her right, and he couldn't be happier for her. He trusted Paul Blofis with his mother's life and he trusted her.

_"I will Percy. Love you too. Night Percy." _The call ended and Percy smiled as the call ended. He had rubbed his palm with the disinfectant and wrapped his hand up neatly and firmly with a new fresh bandage. He looked down and noticed the blood stained handkerchief of Anna's and smiled. He picked it up and went to his kitchen and poured a little water in the sink, with some washing powder and left it to soak, and went back to the bathroom and collected his phone.

Unlocking his screen he saw that he had a new message from Anna. He went back to his office, sitting back down in his chair, he opened the message and read over it. He smiled at her sweet words; it was really made him happy to be so happy.

* * *

><p><em>Ok, ok, ok. I love the nickname. You are really amazing. I will chat to you tomorrow, I have a long day tomorrow at work, and maybe we could meet for a quick coffee just after lunch. Just a quick one if it no problem, I will be at the cafe at twelve thirty, I wish you luck on your test tomorrow.<em>

_From Anna_

* * *

><p>He smiled, wondering if he should meet Anna for coffee tomorrow, he really had a free afternoon so there was nothing keeping him from going, so he came to his decision. Feeling confident, he quickly typed a reply and sent it with a big smile on his face, after he sent it, in hopes that he had made the right choice.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Awesome, I will be there. You want to know something funny, I forgot that I was supposed to be having lunch with my mom today but luckily she had made other plans last minute so she wasn't too angry. I will see you at twelve thirty. And thanks for the support, I appreciate it. I am going to ace that test tomorrow, thank you Anna. Sleep tight Anna, sweet dreams Wise Girl.<em>

_From Percy_

* * *

><p>He sighed at how relaxed he felt about chatting to Anna. She was so supportive and kind-hearted and caring. He loved how natural she was at it; she understood the stress and pressure of the exams as well as far as the relationship story goes. This was his final term at NYU, he had just one and a half months left before graduation and his exams were fast approaching, and in five weeks he would be writing his finals and then the week after would be the day of Reyna's passing and then it would be Christmas.<p>

He remained calm as he continued to type his assignment, he found it easier to focus now with Anna's support behind him, she didn't distract him, and she actually made him work harder. His phone buzzed again, exciting Percy as he picked up and his smile grew wider and wider with every word he read of the message.

* * *

><p><em>Do tell her I am sorry for dragging you away from your lunch with her. I know you will ace that tests, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, sleep tight too Seaweed Brain. Night Percy.<em>

_From Anna_

* * *

><p>He could sense her caring nature. He had never been so happy before, he felt that huge weight of the loss of Reyna; completely lift off of his shoulders. He was still unsure of himself, whether he could really let Reyna go, she would always be his first true love and of course he wouldn't forget that, but it was time to move on.<p>

Everyone worried about him, even Reyna's parents. They call regularly once a week, checking up on him and they were planning a get together on the day of her death, to remember her and that made it all the more harder but he felt better now that he had someone who understood. It saddened him that he made all those he cared about feel so useless and unable to help him, no matter what they tried, he couldn't break down his walls.

* * *

><p><em>Good night Anna, sweet dreams.<em>

_From Percy_

* * *

><p>He sent back, and smiled when he returned to his work, he had a long night of studying ahead of him. He smiled at his screensaver, the selfie he took of him and Anna lying on the grass when they were at the park, it was a special photo, and it meant the world to him, it was a new start. His screen went black and he got back to his studying.<p>

* * *

><p>Annabeth smiled as she looked at Percy's last message and she sighed contently as she sat on her bed, leaning her head against the headboard. Charlie came and collected her from the apartment when Percy had left and he brought her home. She had told Thalia all about it and Thalia was actually excited for her, which surprised Annabeth in the end but it made her smile brightly.<p>

Annabeth grabbed her guitar from its stand and put its strap over her shoulders and started playing a few chords, just fiddling around with the music. She had a spark of inspiration; she had to use it before she forgets it, which happened very often.

She grabbed her notebook and started playing around, coming up with a smooth and soft melody, simple but full of passion. When she found the right melody, she tried to find the words. The tune she had in her head was more like a chorus, so the words had to have power, and she finally had an idea.

She had the whole melody and practicing it a couple of times and write down words for the first and second verse and then the chorus. She had the right words and started strumming the tune and the words flowed out of her.

_Took a deep breath in the mirror  
>He didn't like it when I wore high heels<br>But I do  
>Turn the lock and put my headphones on<br>He always said he didn't get this song  
>But I do, I do<em>

Annabeth smiled, the first part was about Luke, how he never got her even though they were together for so long, and her smile grew more when she started the second part because it was all about Percy and it made her smile happily.

_Walked in expecting you'd be late  
>But you got here early and you stand and wave<br>I walk to you  
>You pull out my chair and help me in<br>And you don't know how nice that is  
>But I do<em>

_And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid  
>I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did<br>I've been spending the last eight months  
>Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end<br>But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again._

Annabeth found herself playing the chorus multiple times over, really, that was all she sang of the song. She recalled how her date with Percy went, how wonderful it was with him, and it really was a new beginning for her, a time to forget the past and begin again. She felt something special with Percy.

She played around with the forth line of the chorus, debating on whether or not to write it as ten months instead of eight but decided that is should be eight because that is how long it took for her to get over Luke and how long it took her to meet Percy and feel this good in so long. She felt something different with Percy; she couldn't describe it because it was that amazing.

Was it crazy; yes, she just met him but it felt like they had been together forever, like she had known him for her entire life? This song was about him, this song was completely about today, and she just smiled as she stopped playing, and wrote down the words and closed her book.

The words completely reflect Percy, he was so laid back and calm, his child like laugh was infectious and beautiful, but it wasn't just about him, it was also about her. For ten months, she had been trying to break free from the regret and heartache of her best friend's betrayal, and now with Percy, she felt like she could begin again.

She looked at the time; it was eleven thirty-seven now. Annabeth yawned and put her guitar back on its stand before she leapt under the duvet of her bed and turned over to her lamp and smiled at her screensaver on her phone. Percy took a selfie of them, lying on the grass that very afternoon, and he took his phone out and took the picture with it and sent it to her and she set it immediately as her screensaver.

She was happy to be herself around Percy, he got her; he really did. She wasn't going to rush into anything with him; she just wanted this to go with the flow, to go slow so that she could enjoy this. She was had never felt so happy in all her life. A yawn escaped from her lips and Annabeth groaned as she stretched her arm out and switched off her bedside lamp and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the wonderful day she had had with Percy.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed, please review, favorite, PM, do whatever you want, I don't mind, I want to hear what you think and I appreciate any insights you have and hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, this is good bye for now, see you on the next chapter, Peace Out Fictioneers.<strong>


	4. Family History Shared

Chapter Four: Family History Shared

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Rick Riordan's  
>Percy Jackson and the Olympians<br>and the Heroes of Olympus Series, and I do not  
>own the songs I put into this book either.<br>I only own my fan made characters and of course  
>the plot line.<strong>

_Added Songs – In Order of Appearance__  
>No songs in this chapter<em>

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><p><strong>Thanks for all the reviews and support for my story. Here is your next chapter, give a shout my awesome beta, Akakuro4869 and a huge round of applause for Captainravenworld too for helping me get this perfect. You guys are awesome, thanks a lot, I own you a tonne. Anyway, here you go my readers, enjoy.<strong>

**I hope that you all had a fabulous New Year and had an awesome start to 2015. All the best of luck for when school starts, I start my lower six stuff on Monday next week, here in Zimbabwe. Anyway, here is chapter 4.**

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><p>Percy smiled as he handed in a yellow folder containing his latest assignment to his professor. A tall chocolate tanned woman with long dark hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, loose strands framing her youthful face. Her hazel brown eyes fixated on Percy's bandaged hand, her eyes filled with curiosity, when she noticed it, whilst taking Percy's report from him.<p>

"Um, Nyssa," Percy started suddenly, feeling uncomfortable with the look of concern that he was receiving from his professor. She was fixated on his bandaged hand, thoughts and scenarios running through her head, uncertainty of how he injured his hand to this extent._ 'There is no way he would hurt himself on purpose, unless, he wanted to...' _her gaze intensifying, the thought and possibility sticking to her brain.

"Percy," She started warily, not taking her eyes off the bandage even for a couple of seconds, feeling the worst for her student and friend. Nyssa could never forget how depressed Percy had been ever since the death of Reyna and it was only just recently that he began to open up again albeit that it was only marginally. Progress; whether it is drastic or minuscule, it was still progress in her books.

While these thoughts danced through her mind, she failed to notice how she had reached for Percy's arm and in a gentle manner brought it closer to her face for a closer inspection of her student's hand. "Nyssa..." Percy repeated more clearly, drawing his hand away from the scrutinizing look of his professor, "...I want to get some last minute reading in before the paper," while making slow and calculating steps towards the door of the classroom.

Nyssa bit the bottom of her lip, she knew that she shouldn't get too involved in her students' lives but Percy wasn't just a student, he was a friend and she knew that she would be damned if she didn't do anything to stop him from doing this. "Percy, I know that you are still grieving since Reyna passed but," she paused, walking forward, gently removing Percy's hand off of the doorknob, looking desperately into his eyes, "This isn't the best solution Percy, it won't rid you of the pain, it just causes problems, please, think about what you are doing, you have your whole life ahead of you." She begged in a pleading tone.

Percy's eyes widened in marginal surprise, his brain failing him on how to respond to Nyssa's comment, he had no idea what she meant. "Um, Nyssa, what are you talking about." He asked in an unsure and concerned tone, staring at his professor and friend with shock filled eyes.

"You know exactly what I am talking about Perseus." She growled in a frustrated tone, unable to comprehend that he was denying what she was talking about. "Hurting yourself on purpose won't make the pain go away, stop it before it's too late. Think about your mom, you father, they would never forgive themselves if you killed yourself, they would blames themselves, stop it now." She ordered, raising her voice slightly to make her point.

"You seriously think that I purposely did this to myself. It isn't what it looks like Nyssa, I would never do such a thing." He couldn't believe that she thought that, it shocked him greatly. She crossed her arms, still glaring at him but he could see the gears turning in her head, processing the information. His eyes grew soft, a sad smile stretching across his face, his voice soft and sad, "besides, do you think that Reyna would really forgive me if I did such a thing?" He added, looking down at the floor.

In spite of her trust in Percy, she still needed to know what was going on, and how he injured himself. She asked the burning question in a demanding voice, "Then tell me honestly what happened Perseus Jackson or I swear to the Gods, I will throw you into Tartarus myself." Percy smiled, admiring the fire that Nyssa had; it was what made her special and unique.

"Ok, this is what happened..." and he gave Nyssa the answers that she wanted, much to her surprise. She did not expect to hear that Percy had gone out on a date yesterday, she thought that he was going to say that he cut himself with a knife accidentally but hearing that he went on a date for the first time in a year was absolutely incredible. It felt good to see her pupil and friend smile effortlessly as he recounted his date with Anna.

_'Aah, young love,'_ She fondly reminisced as she listened to Percy, talking excitedly about this new girl he met, she felt relief and hope for Percy, she was glad to see him not have to force a smile anymore, that was something that she had waited for, for so long. When Percy finally finished, she congratulated him with teasing remarks and patting him on the back, saying 'Atta boy Perce,' but not before telling him how proud she was on him, for finally stepping out of the shadows and moving on.

The two entered the room separately, Percy going in first, and Nyssa followed, both heading to their seats. Percy sat down filled with a new found confidence, as he waited for Nyssa to hand out their test papers, taking a few minutes to read over his notes he made, a hundred and one percent ready for the test.

Two hours later...

Nyssa collected every paper, twenty four papers overall and she assigned the class a free revision session while she marked the test papers. Most chatted away, some texting, other throwing crumpled up pieces of paper at each other, one was sleeping peacefully at her desk but Percy sat in the front row reading over some of the notes the professor handed out on Tuesday morning. He only had morning classes so he can work at the cafe in the afternoon when he needed too.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, grinning like a lovesick puppy. Anna texted him, she had been so busy; she was only able to message him now. It was only eleven, and it was peaceful and quiet for him.

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><p><em>Morning, just checking how your test went, and letting you know I am excited to see you again for coffee today. It has been so busy today, so much stuff to be done and so little time. So stressful, anyway, how did you sleep cause I slept fabulously last night and I owe you a thank you for that. Anyway, I hope it went well, you can tell me all about it when we meet for coffee.<em>

_From Anna_

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><p>Percy adored how caring she was. She was also very curious, but he didn't mind, he enjoyed being open about himself to satisfy her curiousness, he knew that's what built relationships but it felt so easy talking to Anna. His fingers flew across the touch screen typing a reply for Anna and then hit the send button.<p>

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><p><em>It went good in my opinion, just sitting in class now, studying, and now talking to you. :) :) :), also I slept absolutely great, usually with a test I am super stressed but last night I was calm cause of you. Chatting to you, and having your support behind me, made me relax so thank you very much.<em>

_From Percy_

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><p>He smiled brightly and looked up and saw his professor looking up at him and she had a smile plastered right across her face. Percy blushed and looked back down at his textbook and the professor shook her head, silently laughing to herself as she continued to mark the last paper in her possession.<p>

"Alright class, I have marked your papers and your assignments, I wish they were all as defined and well detailed as I would have expected but otherwise I am overall impressed especially with one student in particular." Professor Nyssa announced with a soft expression on her face and her eyes on Percy. "The tests were rather disappointing," she said as she started handing out the papers, "But I was very impressed with the top scorer in the class, Percy Jackson." Percy looked up, a little shocked, but he smiled as he received his paper, with a big fat A written on it and a 96% in red pen.

She finished handing out the tests she handed out the assignments and Percy grinned and nearly jumped out of his seat, when he saw he got a forty-nine out of fifty for his assignment. His phone buzzed again and he inconspicuously pulled his phone out of his pocket and grinned.

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><p><em>You should see how badly I am blushing right now Seaweed Brain. I can't wait to see you, so how did you do on your test and assignments oh and I slept better than I have in so long. Thank you Percy.<em>

_From Anna_

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><p>He leaned back in his chair, and he couldn't get Anna off of his mind, but it made him focus a little more on his studies and his work. He quickly replied back and went back to his reading.<p>

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><p><em>Oh you have no idea how brightly I am smiling right now. I got a ninety-six on my test and a ninety-eight on my paper I handed in. I should be getting out of class shortly so I will see you at the cafe. See you shortly Anna.<em>

_From Percy._

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><p>And on cue, the class was dismissed but the professor stopped right in front of Percy as he was leaving. "Percy, I am very impressed by your improvement. I am proud of you. You have such potential and I am glad that you are not wasting this opportunity. I hope this girl treats you right, and I hope she is the reason for your sudden improvement."<p>

Percy grinned, and nodded at his professor. He walked out and he headed straight to his car and drove off to the cafe. When he arrived, Anna hadn't arrived yet, so he grabbed a regular cappuccino and took the corner booth, and waited excitedly

Within minutes of sitting down, Anna walked through the door and spotted Percy. He smiled at how casual her clothes were, a simple zipped up black hoodie and a pair of three quarter denim jeans and a pair of black Tommy Tackies. She grabbed a caramel latte and sat down with Percy.

"Hey there stranger." She beamed as she sat down next to Percy, and kissed his cheek. "How has your morning been?" She asked politely when Percy sighed.

"Tiring, longest day of my life but it was good. What about you." He pried and Anna smiled sipping her coffee. She was slightly blushing at Percy staring at her with a curious face.

"I promise you, I am done with consulting clients, it is a little overwhelming. I am so tired, but I am glad I got to see you today." Percy grinned and they chatted away for three-quarters of an hour and then it was time for them to part ways.

"I have had fun chatting to you Anna. Let me take you out to dinner tomorrow night, my treat." Anna smiled and kissed his cheek as they exited the cafe.

"I would love to but I have to go; I'll call you later Percy." He smiled and nodded as they went their separate ways but Percy grabbed her wrist with his bandaged hand but it didn't faze him at all. "Is something wrong Percy?" she asked in a worried tone, unsure of what Percy's reasons were for stopping her from heading back to work.

"If you have a little time, I was wondering, would you maybe like to come over to my place for lunch. I know its last minute but I would love for you to come and have lunch with me. I am at home alone all day and I really don't want to be alone so do you want to come at my place for a short while." Percy asked with a worried expression, he was unsure on whether or not Anna would want to come and see where he lived.

"I have plenty of time to kill so, yes, I would love too." Anna said excitedly, walking closer to Percy, an enthusiastic grin plastered across her face. "On the way, I can text my pal to cover for me, she won't mind and she kind of owes me, so let's go." Anna announced as Percy released her wrist, only to take her hand in his, a smile on his face.

"Let's go." Percy spoke, leading Anna over to his car, opening the passenger door for Anna and helped her in before jumping into the car and starting the engine, driving off towards his apartment. Anna had her phone out and she sent a message to Thalia, notifying her of her plans.

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><p><em>Hey Thalia, time to pay back that favor, you owe me big time, so it's time to pay up. Am hanging with Percy at his place for a while, going to be late for recording, will call you when I am on my way, tell no-one where I am. Just cover for me, for just an hour, hour and a half. I love you.<em>

_From Annabeth_

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><p>Anna sent it, keeping her phone protectively close to her so that Percy couldn't see her message and feeling relaxed now that she had let Thals know, she tucked her phone in her pocket, and she felt excited that she was hanging with Percy for a while longer. He constantly snuck a glance every couple of minutes at Anna, and she grinned back at him, causing his grin to grow even brighter.<p>

"So, um...do you live with a roommate or a family member?" Anna asked tentatively, killing the unwanted and very awkward silence that filled the space. She had never asked much about where Percy lived, she knew about him as a person and a little about his mom but nothing on his friends, family or childhood, and being Anna, she was mildly curious about this deep, kind hearted man.

"My best friend used to live with me. We lived in the same apartment since I was eighteen; it's not too far away from where my mom and her husband lives, I stay near because I want to make sure that she is ok." Percy spoke softly but his voice went hoarse when he said that he stayed near his mom's apartment, and Anna noticed that his gaze was distant and his life filled eyes were now dark.

"What do you mean by that?" Anna pressed a little more, curiosity and worry beginning to fill her heart, she wanted to know everything there was about Percy because she cared about him, she saw how broken and hurt he was and she was frightened that she may have gone too far, when he asked that question.

"Since I can remember, my mom had this husband named Gabe and he used to beat both her and I. it was brutal, everyday he hit me, screaming how worthless I was and how my mom shouldn't waste time on me. When I turned eighteen, the police came to me after my graduation ceremony and asked about the fat lip and black eye I had and I told them everything." Anna was dumbstruck, she did not expect that, she thought that maybe his mom was ill but she never saw that coming.

"I don't know what to say." She admitted honestly, she had a rough life growing up because of her stern mother and she got punished brutally but she never experienced that kind of severity that Percy had just told her.

"It's ok. The police arrested him and testified against him and he was sent to prison for 25 to life. My mom was strong; comforting me after hit me but never revealed her scars or bruises. She was the strong one, always hiding her scars and bruises from me, but I always knew they were there but I dared not say anything." Anna stared up at Percy softly as he looked away as they stopped at a streetlight. She could see that it was hard for him, he took her hand in his and gripped it tighter than she expected, only confirming how difficult this type of stuff was for him.

She already knew how closed off he was, she didn't think that it went as far as an abusive step-father. He told her he grew up with no dad really in his life much but she never knew about his previous step father before. She hated seeing him struggle, break down, it hurt her and they had only been together for a short while but it felt so right with him. She wanted to comfort him, she wanted to grow and have a possible chance at happiness with him, she wanted to help him eradicate all of his emotional scars.

"Every night, for eight years, I could never sleep because, every time I slept, all I saw was his face in my dreams and I went to their room every night to see my mom when she was asleep and I saw the bruises, they were far worse than mine and I couldn't stand it, so I always tried to fight him, since I was fifteen and the punishment got worse but he lightened up so much on my mom." Anna gripped his hand tighter, as they continued driving to his apartment, his eyes looking straight and nowhere else.

"That was a very brave and noble thing to do for a fifteen year old. I would never have had the courage to do that." Anna admitted honestly, showing her scared side, the side that showed her innocence, her terrified side.

"I had no choice really, One day, I walked in and saw him kicking her in the gut as she screamed and cried out my dad's name but I knew that my dad would never come and I interfered, saving her and since that day he beat me harder but after a year and a half, she had no more scars. The pain I went through was worth it for her." Percy pulled into the parking outside his apartment building, switching off the engine, they remained seated in the car, neither moving, just facing each other.

Anna didn't have to ask him if she could hug him, her arms automatically wrapped around his waist and she pulled him into the most supportive and loving hug that she could muster, showing that she was there for him and that he didn't have to be afraid around her. She was showing him that she understood everything him, and that she wasn't going to hurt him ever.

"Anna, I had horrible childhood, and I have always kept quiet about this, but I know I have to be honest with you because, that is all you have given me. Trust, honesty, that's all I ever wanted." Percy whispered, tears threatening to pour as he gripped her waist tighter, resting his chin on her shoulder, letting out all the pain, knowing that he had a new shoulder to cry on and he was glad that it was Anna.

Anna froze but didn't let Percy know. Guilt burrowed its way into her heart, Percy trusted her, found her honest and it pains her to be lying to him about who she was. Most of what she told him was true but this guy was so different from others before. He was genuine, trusting, caring and so much more, it made Anna hurt more, the more he spoke about honesty whilst she strung him along.

"Anna, he broke me, he completely destroyed me, I have been so alone because he said I was destined to never find anyone and the wounds would stay there for life. I still have them but slowly, those wounds, both physical and emotional are healing the more I talk about them with you, being with you is healing what he broke." Anna gripped him tighter; she could hear him sobbing, as his lip quivered as his tears fell.

"Percy, you don't have anything to be afraid of anymore, he won't ever hurt you ever again." She assured him, securing her grip tightly around his waist, relaxing his shoulders, she felt his resistance to her touching him, holding him, loosen as he accepted her show of support. "You have me now, I am your new shoulder and I am not going anywhere, I promise."

His lips pressed against her neck as he sighed. "You make me feel safe, and I know we have been together for a short while but I feel like I have known you my whole life. I feel myself again when I am around you." Anna smiled and looked up at him. His lopsided smile had found its way back onto his face, and it made Anna all giddy inside.

"I know it's crazy but I feel the same way." His face brightened as he leaned down and kissed her forehead, and Anna sighed contently, feeling the emotion from this man in his gentle kiss. The way he handled her, she wasn't his property, she was a delicate flower but at the same time she was an equal in his eyes.

All Anna wanted was to be treated like an equal, not a tool or a rarity that made her seem as a possession, she loved the way Percy treated her. He showed her the respect that all women deserved, in her heart she knew that Percy was never going to be anything like his abusive step father, that he was exactly like his mom who she guessed was the best mother that she could be for her son.

"Percy, where was your dad in all this, wasn't he around for you." She asked, just wanting to know the full story to his history because he mentioned nothing of his dad from his childhood.

"He never was never in my life, I always got gifts on my birthday and on Christmas day from him in the mail but I never met him or spoke to him until I was sixteen." Anna listened with open ears to Percy, who was looking at her calmly. "On my sixteenth birthday, I stayed outside, hiding in my old tree house and saw him for the first time in my life and I spoke to him for the first time and at first I hated him for abandoning my mom and I and the when he told me why, I understood, it was his wife that made him stay away because he was in love with my mom."

"Why didn't he marry your mom then if he loved her?"

"Because my mom was eighteen when she met my dad and he was twenty-four and already married to my step-mom and she already had a one year old son. My dad tried to get out of the marriage so he could be with my mom but both of their parents refused and forbade them from seeing each other again until I turned eighteen and this agreement was made right after my mom found out she was pregnant with me." Anna frowned, talk about a tragic love story where the hero and heroine were Percy's mom and dad, separated because of their scandalous relationship.

"Wow, that is so sad, no fairy tale ending." Anna said sadly and Percy nodded in agreement, with a near tearful smile on his face.

"At least he showed he cared. He broke the rule and visited every day since my sixteen birthday and then on my seventeenth birthday, he saw my scars and then he knew." Anna sighed, feeling Percy's pain, listened carefully to him talk, she could listen to him talk for hours and she was glad that he was being this open with her. "He was ready to throw Gabe into Tartarus, I begged him not to call the police so that I could protect my mom and he agreed, giving me until graduation."

"Wow, he really waited that long to do something." Percy nodded. "You had the strength to go through the beatings for another year, how, why might I ask." Anna asked in complete and utter disbelief.

"I had too, I needed to make sure that I could take care of my mom, and take care of myself. She was all I had or years, I needed to protect her. I called in on the morning of graduation, and he caught me and beat me and the police arrived and took him away for good." Anna smiled, taking Percy's hands in hers, giving him some much needed support. "My parents were in contact again and they were happy for the first time in years.

"So what happened between them?" Anna asked curiously, wandering if they finally got their happily ever after that they deserved.

"In my heart, I wanted my mom and dad to be together so we could be a big happy family, but sadly I knew that they couldn't but I am glad that I have both my parents now and then my mom married her husband a year after I started at NYU and she was happy and I knew she had found someone to love her right, Paul Blofis was her high school sweet heart and she loved him."

"That is amazing; most people very rarely find love a second time. Your parents will always love each other and their happiness is really what matters, and so does yours. I don't have the luxury of that. At least your mom and dad knew where their priorities lie, my mom never did." Now it was Percy's turn to listen to Anna's story and he was more than ready to hear her. "I am really not sure if I should say, many people judge me harshly when I tell them this."

"Tell me, I won't judge it's not in my blood to judge anyone." Percy cracked a smile and Anna's lips formed and shaped into a week smile and she put a brave face, and gathered up her courage, she never did like talking about her mom because she basically didn't have a mom.

"When I was young, my family used to live in California and my mom worked here in New York and all she did was focus on her pet projects and her job but she neglected the family she had which consisted of my dad and I." Anna growled in an infuriated tone, rage building within her. "Since they were married, what my dad wanted most my dad was love and when he met my step mom whom I adore, he found it and wanted to be with her and raise the two boys she was pregnant with. It may have been an affair but my mom lived here in New York and honestly didn't care that he went behind her with someone else."

Percy was genuinely taken aback by the similarities between their stories, it was like they were the same person in some ways, they had so much in common including family histories, even if they were in a different situations, the story behind their stories was exactly the same.

"She filed for the divorce years before, and still had the papers ready. She knew that one day he would want to leave her and she didn't care. All she said was, 'Perfect, now I can focus more on my job,' and she moved with me into the very next day into the city where she hired a full time nanny who raised me. She was never around, and when she was, it was only to punish me because I got an A minus on a test or because I was with my best friend who she forbade me to be friends with or because I visited my dad."

"How old were you when she filed for the divorce." Percy asked in a serious and intrigued tone, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Seven, I was punished for trying to live a normal life, have an interesting and rebellious friend who made me feel alive and not be little miss perfect. I never got to live, because her rule was, 'Work is more important life, there is no time for play and love because it gets you nowhere, it only holds you back,' she taught that to a seven year old girl." Percy took Anna's hand in his and gripped it tightly, showing his support and care to this amazing girl who was unfolding and breaking down her barriers so he could get to know her.

"We both bear a deep history and many scars but like you told me yesterday, but we can't stop our life because of them. I have never brought down my walls this far and let anybody see this dark past of mine that I have but I feel like, somehow, I know deep inside that I can bring down my walls completely for you." Anna's heart drummed against her chest, hearing Percy say that was like hearing someone say 'I love you,' to her, it felt as strong as that and she had never felt anything like this for someone in a long time and she liked it.

"I don't know what to say. It's like a dream almost to find someone so willing and honest with me, I thought that it would be hard for me to open up like this to anyone again after my ex and then I met you. This has never happened so quickly before and I like it." Percy grinned as Anna leaned in and pressed a kiss on Percy's cheek, a thrilled smile growing on her face. "Let's go up and we can talk more."

Percy nodded, quickly climbing out and opening Anna's door for her as she removed her seat belt and climbed out of the car and they headed into the modern apartment building, Percy quickly went and got his mail from his mail box, and the he took Anna's hand in his and they entered the elevator and traveled up to the third floor in silence.

When the doors opened, Percy turned left and headed straight to the end of the hallway and turned to the last door on his right. Apartment number C14, Anna notarized the number in her head as he inserted his key into the keyhole and turned it, unlocking his door and he pushed it open allowing Anna entrance first into his humble home. Anna walked in and was taken aback by the beauty and uniqueness of his apartment; it was inviting, spacious and comfortable looking with modern day furniture surrounded by a bright splash of electric blue.

"Wow, this is incredible. It's so beautiful." Anna spoke in an admiring and amazed tone. She looked at Percy who had just closed the door behind him and was heading to his open kitchen. There was no wall separating the two rooms, it was open and beautiful. "How did you find a place like this Percy, it's incredible. How much to rent a place like this?" Anna asked curiously as she followed Percy to his kitchen which was the most beautiful kitchen she had ever seen.

"It didn't come cheap but my friend and I split the rent and when he moved out last year, four months before Reyna passed away, I bought the place with the trust fund money I received from my grandmother on my mom's side." Anna listened to Percy speaking about his place intently. "She died, I never knew her, I got letters from her on my birthday and Christmas, simple notes and advice and nothing more really."

"Did she ever say anything about why she never came to visit her grandchild, and what about your granddad from your mom's side, where he was when all this was going on?" Anna asked curiously as Percy handed her a glass of lemonade that he made just the other day incase his mom and stepdad decided that they wanted to visit him.

"My granddad died when I was six, my grandmother told me about him in her letters, and happily answered any questions I asked in my letters but she died just before my eighteenth birthday and in her final letter that I received on my birthday, she wrote about a family trust that she put in my name because I was her only grandchild. In fact, I still have the letter. Let me show it to you." Percy answered heading to his bedroom, Anna hot on his tail.

His room was simple, a large white king size bed in the middle of the room, beautiful glass bedside tables with simple bedside lamps, a large chest of drawers and a white door to the left and double doors on the right side of the room. Percy was digging behind the double doors, setting boxes on the ground. Anna noticed the box that had 'Reyna' scribbled on top of the box and she grew curious, noticing that the box had been opened recently due to the cut duct tape and the missing pile of dust on the box.

She crept up behind Percy as he dug around in his cupboard, and she opened the top panels of the box and looked curiously inside the box. She noticed a plush dolphin rested on top of the pile of clothes, then she saw a diary, curiosity getting to her, she wanted to know what this woman thought of Percy and what Reyna was as a person but she got distracted by a frame that sat underneath a small shaped box.

At first glance, she saw Percy with his arm around a tall beautiful curly haired woman with a bright smile plastered on her face and Percy's face had a simple smile but his eyes were filled with love, and adoration. She could see from that picture exactly how much in love Percy really was and it saddened her that he lost that and she certainly understood loss very well. But what really caught her eyes was the ring box on top of the picture.

She picked it up the velvet red ring box, and tenderly opened it and gasped at the beautiful ring Percy had picked out. He briefly described the ring to her and it was so much more beautiful than she ever could have imagined. A beautiful sapphire, perfectly cut rested in the center of a diamond ring, surrounded by minute diamond shaped emeralds surrounding the amethyst, it was beautiful. Anna couldn't help but admire the ring, the girl had good taste but it was Percy's taste that Anna liked.

She placed it back in the box and closed it, looking up, her eyes met with Percy's and she stared guiltily at him. "Sorry, I was just looking, I didn't mean to…"

"It's ok. There is no point in hiding it, I knew I would eventually have to get rid of it but I couldn't find it in my heart to get rid of her things, you can understand." Anna nodded as Percy sat on the edge of his large and lonely bed, and Anna stood up on her feet, and sat next to Percy, in his hand was on old torn envelop with his name written on it, with no address, just a stamp.

"Is that the letter?" Anna asked curiously as Percy stared at the letter, just nodding at Anna as he handed the letter to Anna, a sad smile on his face. "You don't mind me reading this; I don't want to invade into your private life." Anna said, wanting Percy to take his letter back but he pushed her hand back to her, giving her nothing more than a shake of his head. Anna hesitantly opened the envelope and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper and unfolded it and carefully started reading over the letter.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Perseus Jackson<em>

_If you are reading this letter, then I have passed on before your eighteenth birthday and sadly, I wouldn't have been able to see you all grown up, and starting your life. I may not have been around, and I may not have approved of your parents actions, leading up to your birth, but I did care about your wellbeing as my only grandchild._

_I know that you only knew me through your mother and through my letters and I understand that I may not have been rather harsh in some areas, but in all fairness, you were the best thing that ever happened to this family. When your grandfather passed away where your mother was a little girl, I didn't think that there would be anything good to come into our lives but when you were born, that all changed._

_The circumstances leading up to your conception was a disgrace in our time and when you were born and I saw you for the first time, I knew that you would be the greatest gift to our family and even though I never visited you while you were growing up, I always kept my eye on you, especially when your mother married that stepfather of yours. I wish I had stopped her from marrying him because of all the pain he has caused you and your mother._

_I wish I had been more involved with your upbringing, I wish that I gotten to know you as my grandchild and not as a mistake on your mother and fathers part. My boy, you are something special, never forget that. Don't let anyone tell you who and what to be, be who you are and nothing more. Now onto my main reason for writing this letter, I have a gift for you my grandson._

_For years I have prepared a trust fund, which I have decided to leave in your name. On your eighteenth birthday, which is probably today as you read this, a lawyer will come and give a copy of my will to you, and he will explain everything to you about this fund. I wish grandfather was alive with me to see this through with me but you never ever knew him, and he left me power over our fortune and I have chosen you as the benefactor._

_I want you to have a better life, and do your best to cover your Mom the life she truly deserved, her high school sweet heart, Paul Blofis, hopes to see her again someday, and hopefully your mom will get the divorce she needs to get. I wish I could have seen the day he gets arrested, remember your promise to your father, on your graduation day, you will be able to live again and so will your dear mother._

_I give you all my love, to both you are your mother, you both have meant the world to me and I still wish I had gotten to know you my Darling Percy, I love you, don't think that I never did because I do, with every ounce of my body, you are my grandchild and I love you so much. All the best of luck for university, make the world see and know who you are, and don't ever change Percy._

_Use the trust money very wisely, to start a family and to live your life, and look after your mother for me, I can't always protect her so you will have to do it now Percy. I love you my dear grandson, good luck, even though you don't need it. I hope that you find a woman who will love you the right way and who treats you back the better than Calypso Greaves and Rachel Elizabeth Dare, you deserve so much better._

_Follow your dreams Percy, you have a brilliant mind and you are capable of anything, you can be anything you want. I wish I could have seen you grow into the wonderful man you are, your mother raised you right and I am glad that your father finally stepped up even if he was two years early, I am glad that you have parents who both love you with all of their hearts._

_And when you find that special someone in your life that you want to spend the rest of your life, I have left you in my will, a family air loom that will help with that. I love you my boy, your grandfather would be so proud of the person you have become and even though we are no longer with you, both your grandpa and I love you, even if he never met you, he is up there watching over you like I will be my angel. I love you Percy and I always will, no matter where I am, I will always be near. Goodbye Perseus Jackson._

_Love_

_Nana Goode (Laura)_

_P.s – I never told you this before but your grandfather's name was Jim Goode. You took your father' surname which I didn't mind at all, you were better off with his surname because it would help him find you because he knew nothing about his own son. All he did was drop of gifts and cards with no idea of what your name was._

_Anyway, I am sorry for everything that has happened to you in your life, but as long as you know that your family loves you then it was worth it, good bye Percy Jackson._

* * *

><p>Anna smiled as she closed her eyes, the depth of Percy's history going deeper and deeper, his honestly was making the guilt within her spread and grow, she didn't want to lie to Percy, he was being so honest with her and here she was, standing before a regular guy, lying to him about who she was. "Wow, so she knew that her time was coming." Anna asked, opening her eyes and looking at Percy who sat hunched over, twiddling his thumbs.<p>

"Yeah, I was supposed to meet her for the first time on my eighteenth birthday, and even though I only knew her through letters, I felt like I had known her all my life." Anna smiled and looked down at the letter, reading over the letter again, her gaze now fixated on the name mentioned, 'Calypso Greaves.'

"Calypso Greaves, you mean pop star Calypso Greaves a.k.a Cally Gee." Annabeth asked with an uncertain voice, she was completely shocked at the similarity between the names, she didn't think that Percy was being serious.

"Yep, that's the one. Calypso was my first girlfriend, at aged sixteen; I was head over heels for her and then she broke my heart, I moved on eventually and you know the rest." Percy shrugged like it wasn't a big deal that his very first relationship was with none other than her musical arch rival, they had always had bad blood between each other, mainly because Annabeth and Calypso competed for the same record deal, Apollo couldn't just give away a record deal, so they fought for it and Annabeth won it.

Anna never forgot that how great she felt when Apollo told her that she was getting the record deal, it was the best day of her life, Apollo fought with her mother to let Annabeth live her dream and he had convinced Athena Chase to let her daughter be a musician. The happiness within Anna grew and grew but then she saw Percy's sad eyes, her happiness evaporated as her heart ached, her face fell, anger bubbled deep within her, she wanted to tear Calypso apart for hurting Percy the way she did. Who does that to someone and with that thought in Anna's mind, it hit her like a freight train. She was the same as Calypso.

She was lying to someone she cared about greatly about way more than Calypso did. Her guilt was growing deep within her, she was lying to Percy nearly just as bad as Calypso, her lie would break Percy just as bad as Calypso's lie, maybe even more than it, she had to tell him before it was too late to tell him. She needed to be honest with him now or else she would never have the courage to do it.

"Percy, can I be honest with you about something." Anna spoke nervously, the guilt pushing her to tell him the truth. He nodded, listening intently or what Anna was about to say. "I am not…" but she was interrupted by her phone buzzing in her pocket. Anna cursed under her breath as she dug in her pocket and looked down at the caller ID. She growled, seeing that it was Thalia calling her. She hit her voice mail button and then tucked her phone back in her pocket and looked back at Percy.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Percy asked curiously as Anna waved it off, taking both of Percy's hand in hers, cradling them gently as she breathed.

"This is more important. Promise me that you won't freak out." Anna begged Percy who hesitated at first but eventually nodded, accepting Anna's request. "OK, this is very hard for me to say because I hate keeping things from anyone, especially you because you have been so honest with me, so here it goes." She breathed in, finding her confidence and then she felt ready. "The truth is that my real name is..."

Her ringtone blared through her pocket, the irritating jingle that was 'answer me, answer me,' repeated many times in a mocking high pitched voice that gave Anna a good scarring and blew away her confidence. She pulled the phone out and swore under her breath seeing that it was Thalia again. "Go ahead and answer it, you can tell me when you are done." Annabeth hugged Percy before shooting out of the room and outside the apartment before answering the phone. "What in the Hades do you flipping want Thalia?" Annabeth spat angrily thought the line.

_"Hey, don't yell at me bitch, you are the one who has been ignoring my calls, messages, what's apps, the whole lot. Where in the underworld are you. You are so late for our meeting, Juniper is panicking, Apollo is worried sock, Luke doesn't give a crap, ok forget about the last one. Just answer me! WHERE ARE YOU?!"_ Thalia panicked, short of breath as Annabeth rolls her eyes, slapping her forehead in annoyance.

"For Heaven's sake Thalia, I sent you a message covering for me. I am with Percy, and I was about to tell him who I really am and you just fucked that up. Sorry for my language Thals, but I was so close to telling him and you ruined it. I can't tell him now, I am too scared to tell him that I am Annabeth..." Annabeth cried through the line, freezing mid-sentence upon hearing the door open, turning around quickly, she saw Percy standing the doorway of his apartment with a concerned expression on his face. "Hang on for a second." Anna spoke onto the phone before covering it with her hand. "Is something wrong Percy."

"I was just checking if everything is alright, I heard yelling I thought it be best if I come check." Percy asked worriedly as Anna put calm and relaxed expression on her face.

"Yeah, everything is fine, nothing to worry about. I will be a minute OK." Percy nodded before closing the door and Anna sighed in relief. She brought her phone back to her ear, her heart was racing, she nearly got caught, and boy was that a major adrenaline rush for her. "Holy Hera that was close Thalia. He nearly overheard me."

_"Annabeth, I am so sorry, in the name of God, I am so sorry. I never check my phone so I didn't see your message. I was having a blonde moment again."_ Thalia scowled, slightly grumbling through the line as Thalia laughed, feeling greatly offended.

"Hey!" Annabeth complained through the line, feeling greatly offended by that comment her best friend just made.

_"Not you Annabeth, you are too smart to have a blonde moment, I meant a 'Luke' blonde moment, not a 'you' blonde moment."_ Annabeth scowled, still imagining a hundred different ways to murder her best friend.

"Not cool Thalia, not cool." Annabeth was in a grumpy mood now because of that silly, mocking comment that Thalia made. Annabeth no longer want to talk to Thalia, she wanted to march over to the studio and slap the crap out of her which at the current moment, didn't seem like such a bad idea.

_"Ok Annie, lighten up. You have no sense of humor."_

"First off, don't call me Annie, you know how much I hate it and secondly, I so have a sense of humor Madame Buzz Kill." Annabeth retorted back with a wicked grin on her face. She knew that the one thing Thalia hated being called was a buzz kill as well as Madame, because it made her feel old and it amused Annabeth when Thalia blew a gasket because of it, she goes ape crazy.

_"Na-ah."_ Thalia squeaked back angrily, a hint of annoyance in her voice

"Ah-ha." Annabeth squeaked in a high voice. The answered each other back that way for a couple of minutes before Annabeth decided that this was a massive waste of her time. "This is not over but I have to go. Good bye Grace." Annabeth hung up the phone and quickly switched it off before fluffing her hair out and walking back into the apartment but there was no Percy to be seen anywhere. She headed down the passage and saw him seated at a desk with his laptop in front of him. "Sorry, I didn't mean for the call to take that long." She apologized graciously and Percy laughed it off.

"It's OK, I didn't mind, your business is your business." He turned back to his computer and Anna got curious and sat on a chair next to him, curiously looking at her screen, and Percy smiled to himself, admiring Anna curiosity. "This is what I am currently studying. It's some pretty wicked stuff; I can explain it to you if you want." Percy offered and Anna happily accepted.

Percy began explaining over his notes, Anna listening enthusiastically, concentration written all over her face but every once on a while, she wondered why Percy hadn't brought up their previous conversation before Thalia called but she was rather relieved but she still wanted to tell him but she couldn't tell him now, she wasn't ready yet but she knew deep down in her heart she would have to tell him eventually before there was no turning back, before they crossed the point of no return in their relationship.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's chapter four, hope you like it. Talk about bad timing don't you think, the plot thickens, when will she tell Percy the truth, you will have to wait and see. Anyway,thank you everyone can't wait to hear what you think of this next chapter, see you next time with the next update. Anyway, please review, favorite and follow, I really am loving the support, and I want to please you all. See you next time.<strong>

**Peace out Fictioneers**

**~Michaela~**


	5. The Rodeo Bar

Chapter Five: The Rodeo Bar

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan's**  
><strong> Percy Jackson and the Olympians<strong>  
><strong> and the Heroes of Olympus Series, and I do not<strong>  
><strong> own the songs I put into this book either.<strong>  
><strong> I only own my fan made characters and of course<strong>  
><strong> the plot line.<strong>

_Added Songs – In Order of Appearance_  
><em>Begin Again – Taylor Swift<em>  
><em> Lovers on the Sun – David Guetta ft. Sam Martin<em>

* * *

><p><strong>~Author's Note~<strong>

**Hey, it's me again with chapter five. Sorry I am so late with this update, been so busy with school, turning seventeen is rough and everything is harder. If I can, I will try update every two weeks, but if I cannot, I will update every three weeks.**

**Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and support for my story. Here is the next chaptah, but there is something very important that I have to say before you read the next chapter.**

**WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!MUST READ!**

**N.B: Minor to mild language from a very well loved character with her hot headed nature so, you have warned. Don't say I didn't warn you because I am doing that right now. So I repeat; minor to mild language ahead.**

**Otherwise please enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

><p>Annabeth woke up and smiled as the sun shone through her bedroom curtain, she felt refreshed and wide awake. She couldn't get over the wonderful day that she had with Percy, the way they were connecting, it was absolutely unbelievable. Last night, when Percy dropped her off at the apartment last night, he asked if he could take her to a country bar tonight, Anna had always wanted to go to one. Excitement bubbled within her, she couldn't wait for tonight but she was curious because it was like he had already planned to go to this bar.<p>

She bounced out of her bed and jumped into something simple, a baggy tee, three quarter jeans and a pair open toed ballet flats. Grabbing her bag, she dashed out, hoping into her vehicle which was waiting for her already and headed off to the studio. Charles noticed Annabeth's bubbly mood and sent a forward message, warning Thalia of Annabeth's good mood.

When Annabeth arrived at Apollo Records in her super bubbly mood, everyone began to worry because usually she was never that happy. Annabeth found herself unable to give her job her full attention, her thoughts constantly returning to the date that she had with Percy. She was seated in Juniper's office, trying to get some space to think as she waited for Apollo to come and call her so that she could record her song for her album.

Instead of focusing on her work, her mind happily supplied her with fantasies of a certain green eyed barista as she entered Juniper's office desperately wanting some time to herself. With a dreamy sigh, Annabeth plopped down into Juniper's fancy office chair and leaned on the desk, happily drawing imaginary hearts on her manager's oak wood desk. There were no words that could describe how she felt; it all seemed so…surreal and amazing at the same time. She felt thrilled and nervous, as well as elated and afraid. She had never felt like this before, not even when she was with Luke, it was so different and it excited Annabeth.

Everything seem so real about Percy, from his perfect sea green eyes that twinkled with life and excitement and changed in a flash into something deeper that drew her in wherever the two of them met. Then his clumsy charm came into mind; thinking of Percy's clumsy, lovable nature had her breaking into peals of mirth, closing her eyes, she could almost see his warm and comforting smile and that warmed her heart because his smile made her heart dance.

While Annabeth was in Percyville, she never felt two warm objects settle on her shoulders; her mind was elsewhere as someone desperately tried to shake Annabeth out her obvious day dream. "Annabeth Chase, can you hear me, you in there." The person spoke in an irritated tone, unable to figure out how to get Annabeth to come back to her senses.

The moment the person's hands touched Annabeth's side, Annabeth shrieked in surprise and slid off her seat, landing hard bottom-first on the un-carpeted, Greek tiled floor, shock running through her veins as she started up at her annoying best friend Thalia; who was currently laughing her head off, clutching her stomach. "What in Zeus's name was that for Thalia?" Annabeth cried in annoyance, standing up and dusting herself off, wincing every time she dusted near her bottom. "Seriously, how am I supposed to sit properly when my butt is sore?" Annabeth complained, crossing her arms as she sat back down on the chair, looking down at the table.

Thalia waved her hand in front of Annabeth's face and she got nothing. Thalia had already lost Annabeth once more, making Thalia irritated once again. Thalia grinned to herself when she noticed the smile on Annabeth's face, and the distant look in her eyes; she knew what she had to do. "Earth to Annabeth, Percy is calling." Annabeth shouted in Annabeth's ear, waving her phone in front of Annabeth's face. Annabeth shot up and grabbed the phone, repeatedly say "Hello," into the phone with obviously, no reply.

Annabeth finally realized that she had been doped and she turned round, facing Thalia with a destructive glare. "Was that really necessary Thalia. Not cool." Annabeth growled with pure destruction in her voice. She wanted to shot Thalia but decided against it, calming down a little but still utterly irritated, finally chucking Thalia her phone back, debating on how she wanted to murder her best friend this time.

Thalia had a satisfied smirk on her face, "Yep, it was because according to the dopey grin on your face, you obviously found the table in front of you to be the most interesting and amazing thing to look at." Thalia replied sarcastically, making Annabeth's eyes go wider than soccer balls.

Annabeth could feel her cheeks becoming hot, her palms getting sweaty, "Shut up," Annabeth muttered meekly, while quiet giggles escaped from Thalia's lips and she tried to hide the smile creeping up on her face. "So, uh…um…what are you doing here?" Annabeth spoke out, trying to be more confident but it was very unsuccessful. Thalia sighed and decided to let Annabeth have her way.

"I just came to tell you that equipment has been set up and we are all ready for you to come and record your song." Thalia informed, leaving the room, and Annabeth sighed, standing up from the office chair, waiting for a moment whilst her blush began to slowly fade. She smiled, feeling less embarrassed, she exited Juniper's office and walked through the maze of hallways and she found the staircase up to floor and she climbed up, feeling her confidence fade as she approached the door of her private recording studio. Her heart raced a mile a minute when she reached the familiar complex, then she opened the door.

Ten pairs of eyes watched Annabeth subtlety as she entered the soundproof recording booth, placing the large headphone over her ears, she closed her eyes as she breathed in and out to relax herself. Her mind started to drift, focusing on her childhood up until now. It all seemed like a hazy dream she had stumbled through haphazardly, smiling at all of her ups and sighing at the downs but it all lead up to this unforgettable moment which was her career.

She stared at the microphone dangling above her head and smiled. Thalia, her mother and father, landing the record deal with Apollo records, whooping Calypso's butt to this lucrative spot in this amazing place but the most important one of all was getting the chance to meet Percy, which felt just as good as Apollo telling her that she had beat Calypso. This wasn't a dream at all, this was her reality albeit filled with hiccups and bumps but this was all her, she was living the dream and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Ok, let's get recording going please." Annabeth spoke into the microphone as she gave everyone a thumbs up and the music began, and she started the long day ahead of her.

Hours later…

Annabeth was seated in her music room, she was in Percyville once again but this time, she was so completely in it, she sat on the floor of the music room, with her notebook out in front of her, as well as tones of music sheets scattered across the floor, she was so focused that she was oblivious to everyone staring at her from outside the room. Everyone she worked with stared at Annabeth through the two way glass separating them, they could see her but she couldn't see them, which she didn't mind.

She was focused on her song, trying to get the melody changes right and whenever she was successful, she giggled and did a little victory dance in her seat, Luke didn't like seeing Annabeth so happy, he liked her hurting, still clinging onto their previous relationship, onto their fake love story he created. Truth is, he never loved her, he just wanted to make her hurt the way he did since that horrible day, which he hated remembering, so he let it go but still felt it necessary to make his annoyance known.

"Seriously, what is wrong with her? She is never so giddy and happy." Luke complained, mainly because she blew him off because she had other plans. Thalia glared at him, which made him shudder because Thalia always found a way to intimidate him, no matter what she did, Luke was naturally shit scared of her even though they used to be best friends before Luke cheated on Annabeth.

"Maybe it's because she has found someone and has finally gotten over you, you sorry pathetic jackass after you broke her by cheating on her Castellan." Thalia growled and everyone stood behind her on that fact. They all knew what Luke did to Annabeth and boy did they want to destroy him for it, they watched her waste two months of her life, moping over him and they thought that she was gone but now she was coming back and no one, especially Thalia, was going to let him break Annabeth again.

"Please, she is still moping about me. All the sissies do." Luke said smugly to himself but unfortunately for him Thalia heard him perfectly well and she had just about had enough of him. She was glad that Annabeth couldn't see or hear them and she thanked her dad for fight lessons because she growled and pounced on Luke no matter how unlady like it was and she had him on the floor on his stomach, she was seated on his back, holding him in a submission hold **(a/n Boston Crab hold)**, choking him.

"Don't you dare talk about her that way asshole? She deserved better than you and now she has found someone real so just keep that fucking trap of yours shut or am I going to have to rip your balls off and shove them up your ass to make you get some sense through that thick skull of yours." Thalia threatened and everyone back away, not wanting to get in the middle of the situation, not that they wanted to stop Thalia anyway. Luke was fighting to get some air but remained where Thalia wanted him. "Now, let's review what I said, shall we?"

"Annabeth has moved on and I should keep my mouth shut." Luke choked out and Thalia smiled, feeling satisfied with her work, she released him from her securing hold and stood up, fixing her t-shirt and pulling up her jeans. Luke stood up and dusted himself off, glaring at Thalia who was smirking at him.

"And don't even think about ruining this for her because I will wreck you, and I don't care if I get sentenced to life in prison with no parole because if you dare hurt her, I WILL murder you by hacking you into a thousand pieces and I will use it to feed the sharks at the Zoo." Thalia growled as she closed the distance between the two and brought her knee up between his legs harder and he crumbled to the floor before her. "Don't you dare forget what I am capable of Castellan, stay away from Annabeth if you know what's good for you."

Luke groaned, and nodded at Thalia as he cradled his nuts; Thalia finally feeling satisfied that her point had been made loud and clear, turned on her heel and went back to watching Annabeth in her recording booth while Luke still lay on the floor, holding his hand between his legs, groaning and biting down on his bottom lip.

"Hey guys listen to Annabeth's song." Juniper whispered, quietly turning up the volume as Annabeth strummed her guitar. "Isn't that such a beautiful melody." She whispered, not wanting to disturb Annabeth.

_Took a deep breath in the mirror_  
><em> He didn't like it when I wore high heels<em>  
><em> But I do<em>  
><em> Turn the lock and put my headphones on<em>  
><em> He always said he didn't get this song<em>  
><em> But I do, I do<em>

_Walked in expecting you'd be late_  
><em> But you got here early and you stand and wave<em>  
><em> I walk to you<em>  
><em> You pull my chair out and help me in<em>  
><em> And you don't know how nice that is<em>  
><em> But I do<em>

They found the words so meaningful full of hope and love and promise. Thalia smiled and realized exactly what the song meant. Everyone else still hadn't pegged what the true meaning of the song really was.

_And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid_  
><em> I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did<em>  
><em> I've been spending the last eight months<em>  
><em> Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end<em>  
><em> But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again.<em>

Everyone smiled as they watched Annabeth's face light up like a Christmas tree as she sang what they thought to be a chorus. They smiled as they realized what the song was about. Annabeth was on the verge of happiness.

_You said you never met one girl_  
><em> Who had as many James Taylor records as you<em>  
><em> But I Do<em>  
><em> We tell stories and you don't know why<em>  
><em> I'm coming off a little shy<em>  
><em> But I do<em>

Annabeth smiled as she thought about the meaning of this song, it was about how she felt Percy and it was growing and she couldn't stop it. She put her heart into the song, showing all the emotion into her confession of growing love that was within this song.

_And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid_  
><em> I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did<em>

_I've been spending the last eight months_  
><em> Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end<em>  
><em> But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again.<em>

Everyone swayed and listened to the flow of the song, they all knew it was a new one, and it was deeply personal to Annabeth, she expressed herself through her music that was Annabeth.

_And we walked down the block to my car and I almost brought him up_  
><em> But you start to talk about the movies that your family<em>  
><em> Watches<em>  
><em> Every single Christmas and want to talk about that<em>  
><em> And for the first time what's past is past<em>

They all realized what the true meaning was of the song. Annabeth had really started afresh and she had she let go of what happened all that time ago, she was becoming herself again, she was happy, she was different and she finally let go of the past.

_And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid_  
><em> I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did<em>  
><em> I've been spending the last eight months<em>

_Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end_  
><em> But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again.<em>

_But on a Wednesday in a café I watched it begin again._

Everyone except Luke of course sang the chorus with her and when Annabeth finished they all clapped and she looked up blushing like a cherry tomato as they ran into the room hugging her. "We missed the old you, Annabeth." Thalia squeaked as she wiped her tears, Annabeth realized why.

"Yeah, I am over what happened all that time ago and I have found someone who makes me feel special, who actually makes my heart skip a beat. I can't get him out of my head. He could be what I have been waiting for." Everyone nearly cried as they hugged Annabeth. She looked at her phone and noticed that it was six. "Oh crap, I was so lost in my song; I forgot he's picking me up from my apartment."

Everyone except Thalia looked at her going, 'What the heck is going on here?' Annabeth assured them, she would explain but only when it was a little more private. She used the 'girl talk,' code which made Luke go running and she promised she would explain before she dashed off and climbed into her car and Charlie shot her off to her old apartment.

* * *

><p>Percy glared at his best friend as he chucked his empty water bottle into the bin. "Grover, I told you, I have a date. I know we haven't seen each other in so long but I have a date to go and pick up." Percy apologized as he put on his cowboy hat, and put on a fake Sherriff's badge and his best friend looked at him sadly. "What's wrong Grover?" Percy asked worriedly.<p>

"Wow, I never thought that my best friend would be choosing a girl over me." He whispered and then he was just started grinning for no reason, which shocked Percy but he was even more taken back when Grover yelled, "Hell Yes. My best friend is back. I never thought I'd see the day you get back on the old saddle." Percy couldn't help but smile.

He fixed his bolo-tie and made sure it looked neat enough so he looked presentable for his date tonight. Grover smiled at Percy and gave him a thumb up confirming that Percy looked quite good, and feeling quite relieved Percy relaxed sat down for a moment and sighed at his best friend and decided to continue his conversation with Grover. He still had plenty of time before he had to go and pick up Anna.

"Thanks man. She is something. Tonight I am taking her to the Rodeo Bar." Grover smirked and punched his best friend in the shoulder as they laughed happily. Percy knew Anna loved country music and knew that she had never been to a Country-Western Bar so he organized with her that they were going there and she had to be a cowgirl.

"That's such a smooth move my brother." Grover said as he hugged Percy. "Perce, I am so happy that you are finally giving it another try. I have never seen you so happy before Percy. Not even with Reyna, she must be seriously special." Percy nodded in agreement, Anna was special, she was everything he dreamed of and he certainly couldn't let her slip through her fingers.

"Come on, I had better go. I am picking her up from her apartment and I don't want to be late." Grover smiled and hugged his best friend and Grover grinned excitedly as he left. Percy grabbed his car keys and he fixed his hat and locked his door and leapt into his car, punched in Anna's address and off he was.

* * *

><p>Annabeth furiously rummaged through her closet looking for what she wanted to wear. She jumped in excitement, "Success," she muttered and put on a pair of denim shorts with frayed edges, style choice, and she grabbed a regular, sleeveless red and black checkered blouse and put it on and buttoned it up to the top, leaving the bottom undone and tying it into a knot in a stylish manor.<p>

She got down on her hands and knees and crawled under her multitude of dressed and jeans and dug through her shoes and found her favourite pair of frilly white cowgirl boots. She chucked them on and looked in the mirror and smiled. Then she noticed she was still Annabeth Chase, not Anna Olympia. She quickly tucked her blonde curls into a bald cap and she then put on her curly black wig and placed in her blue contacts and just in time.

Knocking at the door signalled the arrival of her date. Percy was early, and she giggled and made sure every blonde curl was hidden and then she grabbed her silver sparkled cowgirl hat and popped it on before heading to the door and opening it. Percy was leaning against the wall, his hat down and his hands in his pockets and his one leg crossed over the other.

"Evenin' mame, lookin mighty fine on this beautiful night." Percy spoke in a ridiculous Texan accent and Anna smiled and giggled as Percy raised his hat and looked at her with a romantic gaze. He pushed off the wall and snaked his hands around Anna's waist, pulling her towards him. "You are simply to die for Anna." He said in romantic tone.

"Why thank you Sherriff and might I say, you look like you came out of a bull riding magazine before the ride." She replied enthusiastically, snaking her arms around Percy's neck. Percy grinned, loving how clever she was.

Anna pulled away grabbing her purse from the coat hanger right next to the door and she closed the door, locking it. It was Friday night and they were about to have the best time of their lives. "Shall we, my fair lady." Percy said as he offered Annabeth his arm and Anna gladly took it.

"We shall dear sheriff." Percy smiled and led her to his car and he politely opened the door for her as always. He closed it once she was seated in comfortably and buckled in and then he climbed in and they were off.

* * *

><p>At the Rodeo Bar<p>

Anna was amazed by the masses of people here tonight for Friday, mainly because the popular band, The Heart Throbs were going to start playing here every Friday night. Everyone was in character, having fun. Percy glared and had his arm protectively over Anna's shoulder as they walked through the mass of gentleman, tipping their hats to Anna but she ignored them. She kept her head against Percy's chest; her main focus was glaring at any prying eyed females staring at Percy.

They arrived at the bar, music blaring as multitudes of people got down on the Anna happily accepted a simple bear that Percy got for them and grinned like a little kid as he gave her the bear. "So, what do you think Anna?" Percy asked as they sat down, him moving his head around, enjoying the beat of the song being sung. Anna smiled and beamed brightly at Percy, leaning in and pecking him on the cheek and her smile turned into a grin.

"I love it. I very rarely go out on a Friday night. This is super wicked." Anna beamed as they cheers to their evening before taking a sip of their beer. "I love it Percy, this is the best date I have ever been taken on, well apart from our first date." Percy grinned bowed at his date.

"You know that The Heart Throbs are like one of my favourite bands in the country, as of tonight, they are playing here, locally every Friday night and next year Christmas, they will be touring with Annabeth Chase all around the USA." Percy spoke knowingly and Anna grinned, she knew that but felt privileged to have a man who paid attention to music and loved the type of music she loved.

"I adore The Heart Throbs; they are my favourite band too. This is the first time I have heard that they were playing here." Anna admitted, Percy grinned, a laugh escaping his lips and Anna pursed hers into an annoyed from. "What is so funny might I ask Percy?" Anna demanded, wanting to know why he was hosing himself.

"I know something that you don't know, that is very rare between us. I am six for six now." Anna grinned, sighing in defeat. He had caught her out a couple of times and she quite enjoyed the friendly competition that they had, it made their connection a little more interesting. "May I have this dance, milady." Percy spoke and Anna smiled and curtsied to Percy and nodded. She offered her hand to Percy and he happily took it and pulled her towards the floor of people and they started dancing to the beat of the music and staring into each other's eyes, and having some good laughs.

Two hours later…

"Wow, I have never danced so much in my life, my legs feel like jelly." Anna said tiredly as she sat down on her stool and ordered another drink, this time she got a tequila sunrise and smiled at Percy as he nearly lost his balance as he sat down and grabbed another beer.

"You danced everything out of me, you still have some breath in you, and I don't have any left in me." Percy said breathlessly as he sat down on his seat and he was hunched over, desperately trying to catch his breath and Anna found herself laughing uncontrollably.

"Well, I did do a lot of dancing when I was little, and in secret with the help of my dad, hiding from my mother." Anna smiled and Percy smiled too. "This is really a wonderful evening Percy, I have never had so much fun in my life, thank you so much." Percy took Anna's hand in his, holding it gently like it was a delicate flower and brought her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss on her hand, and smiled up at Anna and she returned it.

"I will be right back, I have to go to the bathroom for a moment, I won't be long." Anna smiled and nodded as Percy stood up and went straight to the bathroom. Anna happily took a sip of her beer and there was a tap on her shoulder. She turned round froze when she saw who was standing in front of her. Luke Castellan. _Be calm Chase, he can't recognize you, act cool,_ she thought as he smiled at her.

"Hi, I'm Luke, what's your name?" he asked politely as he leaned against the bar top, looking at her curiously. She thought that it would be best to answer cause as soon as she blew him off, hopefully he would leave quickly.

"I'm Anna, what can I do for you?" Anna replied politely, restraining herself from kicking him in the balls. She gritted her teeth but managed to give off a small smile, as Luke moved in closer to her.

"I wanted to ask if you would let me get you a martini or a simple beer." He said as he placed his hand on her leg, which made Anna stare at him with a shocked face. He just smirked at her as his hand moved further up along her leg and settle on her hip.

"Um, sorry but no thanks. Could you please take your hand off of me." Anna begged as he started leaning in, she tried to move away. "Um sorry but I am here on a date, so please get off of me." Anna panicked as Luke just smirked at her, looking at her like she was his property, he was getting closer towards her.

"I won't let him see us." He said as he kept leaning in. Anna turned away and saw Percy walking in her direction. His eyes landed on hers, filled with fear and worry, she mouthed, 'Help me Percy,' She begged, and Percy came running, Luke's lips nearly on hers and then he was off of her.

"Excuse me dude but back off my date before I make you." Percy growled as he stood in front of Anna, his hand gripping hers. Luke was struck back by how Percy reacted.

"So sorry pal but she's fair game. So why don't you go and find another whore to play with cause she is mine?" Anna had never seen anything unfold so fast. Percy released her hand so quickly and blocked Luke's oncoming fist and shoved him back. Luke glared Percy and charged at him but the bouncer had walked in and grabbed Luke by the arm and stared down at him.

"Don't you ever talk about my girlfriend like that ever again you piece of crap." Percy spoke in a threatening tone, it was enough to intimidate Luke to his breaking point; there is only one other person who could do that to Luke and that was Thalia Grace. "Keep away from my girlfriend you good for nothing idiot." Percy growled at Luke as he was dragged out by the bartender and bouncer as Percy turned to Anna and grabbed her hands, "Are you alright Anna?" He asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I will be ok. Thank you for what you did." She was blushing and Percy didn't understand why. "Percy, you called me your girlfriend." He blushed realizing what he had said but his face turned confident, knowing that he really meant it, and that it is what he really wanted. In his heart, Percy knew that he wanted Anna to be his girlfriend, and that he wanted them to be made official.

"I think of you as my girlfriend and I want to make it official. So Anna Olympia, would you like to make us official by truly becoming my girlfriend?" Anna smiled and gripped his hands tighter, her smile brightening, her eyes full of hope and Percy's were full of promise and compassion, she knew that she wanted to be with Percy, so she made her choice

"Percy Jackson, I would be honoured to become your girlfriend." Percy's face went completely bright; he grinned and pulled her closer towards him, his left hand wrapping around her waist securely, and Anna pressed the palms of her hands against Percy's chest, one on his heart, causing her to smile brightly as she felt his beating heart against her hand as Percy gently grabbed Anna's chin and stared down into Anna's eyes, waiting to see who would make the first move, which of course, Percy did.

He leaned down and pressed his lips gently against Anna's lighter than a feather, neither of them could help but smile which made it all the more special, pulling away, Percy's kiss lingered on Anna's lips, she wanted something more so she leaned up and pressed her lips harder against Percy's and kissed back with as much force as she did and they stayed that way, savouring the feel of each other's lips assuring each other that they were at the next step in their relationship. They pulled away and there were cheers from around them, which made them laugh.

"Wow that was amazing." Anna spoke breathlessly, a smile permanently plastered across her face after their kiss, she couldn't rid herself of the love struck look on her face and Percy had the same facial expression on his face.

"Yeah. It was definitely worth the wait." Percy said calmly, and he pressed another feather kiss against Anna's lips and she returned it enthusiastically. Cheering erupted and Percy and Anna turned to the stage and saw a spotlight on the once vacant stage that had three guys on the stage. "Hey look, they are going to start playing." Percy said excitedly, and Anna smiled too.

"Good evening ladies and gentleman. I'm Jason Grace, that's Frank Zhang…" The blonde on the stage spoke, pointing at the tall, handsome short brown haired man next to him holding the guitar, "…and that's Leo Valdez…" He said excitedly as he point the small elf like face man behind him before turning to the audience raising his hands in the air, "…and we are The Heart Throbs! You ready to have some fun tonight." Everyone cheered as Percy dragged Anna to the dance floor. "Let's rock gents!"

The music began as Anna stared at Percy, fierceness in both of their eyes, as the music started, they circled each other like they were in a Mexican standoff, nothing but smiles on their faces as they got into the rhythm of the music. And then the singing started…

_Let's light it up_  
><em>Let's light it up<em>  
><em>Until our hearts catch fire<em>  
><em>Then show the world a burning light<em>  
><em>That never shined so bright<em>

Percy grabbed Anna's hand and started spinning her and twirling round the floor as the music tempo grew. They started dancing around excitedly as they enjoyed the music, it was so spectacular and so much fun, Anna never had this much fun before in her entire life. no even perform on stage was as fun as this moment she was sharing with Percy.

_We'll find a way_  
><em>We'll find a way<em>  
><em>To keep the cold night<em>  
><em>From breaking in over the walls onto the wild side<em>  
><em>The hunger satisfied<em>

_We're burning up_  
><em>We might as well be lovers on the sun<em>  
><em>We might as well be lovers on the sun<em>  
><em>We might as well be lovers on the sun<em>

Colorful lights danced around the room, lighting it up as Percy and Anna laughed, enjoying the music as Jason sung, his talent was extraordinary, and his band was exceptional and Anna couldn't believe how well Percy knew her; her music tastes, all of her tastes as well as what she loved and especially how much she loved to dance.

_We'll never know_  
><em>We'll never know<em>  
><em>What stands behind the door<em>  
><em>But I got a feeling and it's a feeling that's worth dying for<em>  
><em>Just close your eyes and hold your breath because it feels right<em>  
><em>We'll keep it moving until we make it to the other side<em>  
><em>And let's enjoy the ride<em>

Anna grinned as she and Percy danced, the was the most incredible feeling she felt, this song perfectly described the feelings brewing within her, Percy felt the exact same way as they stared deep into each other's eyes, just having as much fun as they could, with the song coming to the end, Percy wrapped his arms around Anna's waist and pulled her towards him, which she didn't mind at all.

_We're burning up_  
><em>We might as well be lovers on the sun<em>  
><em>We might as well be lovers on the sun<em>  
><em>We might as well be lovers on the sun<em>

_Let's light it up_  
><em>Let's light it up<em>  
><em>Until out hearts catch fire<em>  
><em>Then show the world a burning light<em>  
><em>That never shined so bright<em>

As the song came to close, Percy leaned down and pressed a feathery kiss to Anna's lips and smiled at her, her eyes filled with so much happiness, if her friends saw her now, they would see that she was over Luke, and she was thrilled because of it, because honestly, she was done with him, he was her past and Percy washer present and future.

The band started their next song and Anna and Percy happily started dancing again, enjoying their evening, enjoying the refreshing and friendly air, their relationship building the more they were together, the stronger their closeness was becoming.

Several hours later…

Percy smiled as he looked at the sleeping Anna in the passenger's seat, she was such a riot tonight and it made Percy grin like a fourth grader. He thought about taking her back to her house but he decided against it and decided that it was a little late and he does not want to risk an accident, he had one too many in his opinion, and it was nearly two in the morning.

He arrived at his apartment building and he parked his car in his parking and quietly turned off the engine and opened his door and climbed out and went straight to Anna's side, opening her door for her, her eyes fluttering open, a giddy smile on her face. "Come on, let's go up." He edged her as he helped her out the car, she lost her balance but thankfully Percy caught her.

"I think that I had one drink to many." Anna said in a giggly voice as she leaned on her boyfriend, Percy was at least able to stand on his feet without falling over. Anna let a yawn escape from her mouth and she seemed to purr like a kitten as she snuggled into Percy's chest as the elevator reached his floor. Percy led her to his apartment, taking her coat and hanging it on the rack by his door before grabbing a bottle of water and two pain stop for Anna. She swallowed them down and glugged down about two thirds of the water.

"Come; let me show you to the guest room." Percy offered and Anna happily accepted, taking Percy's hand in hers and pulled her towards him and she wrapped her arms around his waist to keep herself balanced as he lead her to Grover's old room which is now the guest room. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, Anna's smile growing, the room was beautiful.

It was modern like his with a beautiful large king size bed with pure white linen sheets on the bed with a plain white duvet and beautiful white pillows. The chest of draws was obviously had carved, it was so beautiful and unique. This was an amazing bedroom, she adored it and it had its own bathroom. "I wish I could live here, this room is incredible."

"I wouldn't mind you living here." Anna thought for a second, he wasn't joking around, she heard it in his voice. He really meant that. She knew how lonely it was living one your own and she could understand why he would say that, the loneliness gets to people and it got to her too. "Sorry, that involuntarily came out; I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." Percy apologized guiltily, looking down at the floor, rubbing his hand behind his neck, the tension in the air growing, both feeling awkward at this current moment.

"No it's ok. I understand, even in my drunken state, I can understand why you said that. Maybe someday that may be possible, if this works out between us." Anna assured him and he looked up, hope filled his eyes. She smiled and pulled out of his arms, and stood in front of Percy and her hand reached up his face and cupped his cheek with her smile turning into a grin. "Trust me, I want that too but we have to take it slow, this is only beginning but it is really going well between us Percy, so we will see."

"I couldn't be happier." He smiled and kissed her forehead, before leaving the room. Anna's legs wobbled so she quickly went and sat down on the edge of the bed, her head spinning, while she waited for Percy and the head ache pills to kick in. Percy entered the room carrying a shirt and a pair of shirts and he handed them to Anna. "These should suffice for now, I got them out of Reyna's box I that it alright." Anna smiled and nodded.

"That's ok, it's better than nothing." Anna admitted, feeling a little bit weird that Percy was letting her wear Reyna's things, but it was better than nothing really. "Ok, I am gonna change and get some sleep." Anna stifled a yawn and she smiled at Percy as he leaned down and kissed her cheek before heading towards the door.

"Night Anna, sleep well, see you in the morning." Percy spoke with a bright smile on his face as he closed the bedroom door behind him. Anna waited a moment, watching the shadow of his feet under the door move away from the door. When she felt sure that Percy was gone, she grabbed her purse and pulled out her contacts case, taking them out carefully, and placing them back neatly into the case.

She got up and headed to the bathroom and changed into the pyjama's that Percy had given her, the drowsiness from the head ache pills Percy had given her had began to set in, she desperately needed sleep and she couldn't wait to dive into the beautiful and comfy looking bed. She decided to leave the wig on, in case Percy walked in, she had used a wig cap and had it fitted so that she could sleep with the wig on, she felt better, having that done.

She washed the little make-up she had on her face, before furiously drying her face so that any leftover make-up wouldn't smear against the white pillow cases. She climbed under the blankets and sheets of the bed, switching off the bedside light that Percy had turned on when he showed her the room and she sighed contently, she had never felt so comfortable in her life, she felt like she was floating on a cloud as she snuggled into the blankets and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Percy smiled when he closed the door, heading to the kitchen and grabbing himself a bottle of water, and some head ache pills. He had grabbed himself an apple to eat so he could drink the head ache pills, he didn't want to take them on an empty stomach. Anna had eaten just before they left the Rodeo Bar but sadly he did not but he wasn't that hungry. He locked the door and switched off the lights, heading to his bedroom, smiling as he walked past the guest room and into his room.<p>

He shut the door and went straight to his closet, eating a chunk of his red apple, while debating what to wear to bed. He decided to wear a regular plain old baggy black vest with a pair of blue striped pyjama bottoms. He removed his shirt and stared at his reflection in the mirror, mainly at the bandage that was wrapped around torso, from just beneath his chest, all the way to the hemline of his trousers. He chose to cover those scars that lay beneath these bandages because the pain of seeing them was too much.

Yes he had many scars, some small, others bigger but nothing compared to this one scar that had haunted him every day of his life for the past four years. He didn't regret calling the police, what he regretted was letting Gabe get inside his head, trapping him and then doing the permanent damage that scared him for life, it was part of the reason why he didn't look for someone to love him after Reyna. It's that memory that haunted him more than any of his other memories.

He breathed out painfully, and slowly began the painful task of removing the bandages around his torso, the cotton rubbing uncomfortably against his body. With each layer that fell, the more he questioned himself, did he really want to travel down this road again, he thought that he had left this all in the past but the more the questions attacked his mind, the more he wanted to stop and just redo it and hide them from the world for good.

He decided to stop and just redo the bandages but unfortunately his hands didn't get the signal to stop, only to freeze by his sides as the other end of the bandage fell to the floor, landing all over his feet but that didn't bother him, his gaze focused on his mirror image. His eyes were drawn to the pink jagged crescent shaped scar that ran from the tip of his right hip, all the way up to just above his bellybutton. Percy knew that it shouldn't mean anything but it's shape, it resembled the first letter of his tormentors name, it made his quake in fear at the recollection of his life with Gabe, forever binding him to the past he tried to get away from.

Percy never knew why he did this ritual of wrapping these bandages around his torso only to come back and unfurl them in front of the mirror, watching as each layer fell to the floor. He recalled how he'd humoured himself once that it was like each night he was giving himself a gift only instead of wanting to open it, he wanted to add more layers and layers of wrapping paper to it and then wishing that he could throw it as far as possible into the Hudson river.

Subconsciously, Percy began to trace the scar with his index finger, feeling every bump of the uneven skin, the change in the depth of the scar making tears begin to form in his eyes, the memories of how he got this scar, permanently etched into the back of his mind. The glint of a knife in the dark as it dragged painfully through his skin. Never had he seen so much blood in his life, slowly dying his shirt a frightening deep shade of red, as it slowly pooled beneath him as he begged for his life.

The mind crippling fear as he watched the pool of blood grow wider, showing no signs of stopping, his eminent death staring right at him. His body felt like it was on fire as his finger traced the deepest part of his scar. All he saw was the fear on his mother's face, hearing her begging and pleading for her son's life, the smirk on Gabe's face as he stood above Percy, cradling the knife like it was a baby, his maniacal laugh echoing through his mind as he carved his mark on Percy.

But what shocked Percy was the change Gabe had when he started muttering mumbled incoherent cursed while he paced up and down the small living room, the realization of he had just don after he started sobering up from the alcohol in his system. Percy remembered every single heart wrenching detail of that moment - the fear, the pain of his wound, the frantic manor in which his mother begged him to stay awake before he blacked out from his loss of blood, the constant talking around him as he lay unconscious in his hospital bed, his mother and father and his closest friends begging him to wake up.

When he came too, he was met with the happiness and love but then came the detectives and the trial. Percy gritted his teeth as he remembered the sneer that Gabe sported the day he was sentenced to jail, Percy being temporarily let out of the hospital for Gabe's sentencing(mainly to protect him and keep him under observation). He testified over a live video Skype, not faltering once, determined to make sure that Gabe didn't get away with anything. But the day of his sentencing, something that Gabe did and said played on his mind.

* * *

><p><em>Percy inhaled as he stepped out of the stuffy courtroom, the judge had just called a momentary recess of half an hour before they were to return and hear the verdict. He doctor had demanded that he stay in bed for a few more days and get better but Percy was allowed out but was made by his doctor to swear on the river Styx to absolutely nothing to straining because he should still resting, not moving around.<em>

_Percy wandered around the corridors with his mother who was keeping a close eye on. Percy had started to feel a little dizzy so his mom went off with his father to try and find a vending machine to get Percy some water. In the meantime, Percy was heading back to the courtroom, after finding nothing interesting. He walked around calmly with his hands in his pockets, smiling that Gabe was going to get what was coming to him._

_"Ain't it a lovely day runt." An all too familiar voice sneered, Percy finally noticing that Gabe was chained to the railing beside him as he comfortably sat on the bench in his orange jumper, waiting for the guards to arrive. Percy froze in mid-step, his breathing hitched in his throat while he could taste the bile in the back of his throat. Percy clenched his fists until his knuckled turned white._

_He was a hundred percent determined not to let the fear he had of this man show, **'He is going to prison anyway, he couldn't touch him or his family while he was in prison,'** Percy reasoned with himself, his lungs now remembering their primary function as he began to breath calmly, facing Gabe dead in the eyes. He wasn't going to be intimidated by this idiot._

_"What's the matter runt, are you afraid of me?" Gabe mocked, bursting into an uproarious laughter, loud enough for everyone to hear. Percy, not thinking stepped closer to Gabe, no fear setting in as he stared directly into Gabe's eyes. "Oh, who's got on the big boy pants now?" Gabe laugh, just irritating Percy further, not thinking, Percy stood dangerously close to his tormentor._

_"I am not afraid of you anymore." Percy growled defiantly, still gripping his fists tightly, and Gabe smirked at Percy. Within the next couple of second, Percy felt excruciating pain where his wound was. Percy knelt on the floor hunched over, gripping his torso, feeling his blood starting to seep through his bandages. He looked up at Gabe who was smirking down at him. Gabe spat on Percy's back, laughing as he kicked Percy in the stomach, who now lay on the floor, trying to protect his wound._

_"You think you can hide from me Jackson, I own you." He laughed as the guards grabbed a hold of him, dragging him away from Percy as he lay trembling on the floor, sobbing because of the pain, pressing harder against his side to stop the bleeding. "Mark my words Perseus Jackson, that mark will torment you for life, it will prevent you from ever opening yourself to anyone. You hear me!" Gabe shouted from a distance. "You will forever be alone, the gods will forbid you from love and happiness, they will take it from you forever."_

_Percy say his panicked parent's running towards him, as soon as they saw the blood on the floor, his shirt and hands, they called 911. The sentencing had been postponed due to Percy's condition but as Percy lay in his hospital bed once again, he was getting lectures from left, right and centre but all that Percy could think about was what Gabe had said to him, it played on his mind, he would never forget what happened today because of what Gabe yelled at him…_

* * *

><p>To this day, that statement had haunted Percy; nothing would ever make him forget what Gabe said. He chose to ignore it but the day Reyna died; he started believing that Gabe was right and now he had found Anna. For the first time since Reyna died, he actually believed in love again, he believed that there was hope for him after all; he had hoped that he would find love again and maybe this time it might be with Anna. She could be the second chance that most people very rarely find. He grinned to himself, putting on his vest and then he put on his pyjama trousers and headed to his bed.<p>

He finished eating his apple and he took the pills off the table next to his bed, swallowing them before downing half of his bottle of water. He climbed under the sheets and blankets of his king-size bed and lay there for a moment, just staring up at the ceiling, a weak smile plastered on his face. He felt refreshed as he switched off his bedside light and lay flat on his back with his hands lying flat on his chest as he drifted off to sleep, letting peace and tranquillity claim him while guiding him into dreamland.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks again for the support, you guys rock, I will be back soon with Chapter Six. You know what to do, PM, review, favourite, I appreciate the support. See you next time with my next update. I will do my best to post it as soon as possible, so if you can, please be patient with me.<strong>

**Oh and I hope that the language wasn't too much and the overall chapter was good. Oh, another thing, please help me give a shout out to Akakuro4869 for helping me out, you are awesome, thanks a lot, I own you a tonne. Amazing beta reader, owe a tonne to you for getting this ready and another huge thank you to Captainravenworld for helping me with this too. Got to run, school is calling me, catch u later…**

**~Michaela~**


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